Voyage of Destiny, Book I: New Life, Old Life
by Gypsy Druid
Summary: Slayers get a new life. In return, Janeway gets to relive her old one. BuffyVoyager XOver. Post 'Dark Frontier', VOY, Season 5, Long after 'Chosen', Buffy, Series Finale. Read Disclaimers. We WILL NOT be held responsible for your prickly sensibilities.
1. Prologue

Voyage of Destiny, Book 1

New Life, Old Life

By: GypsyDruid & IceFlame55

Disclaimers:

I own nothing and no one. Therefore, no profit has been or will ever be made from this story. 'Nuff said.

Spoilers: Nothing too specific, though there will be references to episodes of both Buffy and Voyager. If you've watched the shows, you may or may not notice them. If you haven't, then it doesn't matter anyway.

Rated: **NC-17/FR21/MA.** ADULTS Only!!! Femslash, Threesomes, Foursomes, kinkiness, you name it, we'll probably at least attempt to write it in.

Anything I've missed (disclaimer related) I can't think of it at the moment, but it still applies.

**A/N:** A few changes have been made to Voyager in this series to suit my own purposes. For example, Ro Laren (ST: TNG) is aboard as a Lt. Cmd. under Tuvok. Her defection to the Marquis was a carefully planned deception to infiltrate the ranks. B'Elanna & Seven became friends a lot sooner than in the show. There are others, some minor, some not so much. If you spot them, more power to you, but yes, they were intentional.

**A/N 2:** Speech patterns communicator (italics), 'mental speech'(italics), thoughts (italics w/o ''), Voyager Speaking is bolded

Special Thanks to Katrina & Llachlan. Though we've made up a lot and used concepts from various fics that we've read, their series "Wonders of the House Presba" (ST: Voyager) really contributed a lot to the making of this story. If you wanna read this series, here's the link The Slayers get a new life. In return, Janeway gets to relive her old one.

Prologue

Admiral Kathryn Janeway of the United Federation of Planets looked up at the Boreth Monastery. She had been visiting here every year since Voyager's final return five years ago to honor her lost friends and comrades. Kathryn had finally brought the Federation Scoutship Voyager home to Federation space in a desperate plunge into a wormhole to escape the crossfire of escalating war between the two new enemies that were almost as vicious as the Borg and Species 8472, but in the process, she had lost Harry Kim, Tom Paris, and B'Elanna Torres. Ah, B'Elanna. Her friend and sometime bedmate.

Thoughts of B'Elanna led her to thoughts of Seven of Nine. The ex-Borg was the one who held Kathryn's heart, and B'Elanna had known it, but the captain hadn't been able to set aside her preconceived notions of what a captain should be to her crew. Kathryn and B'Elanna had held each other up while Kathryn loved Seven from afar, and B'Elanna worked through her many issues with Tom Paris. Their on again, off again affair had come to an end when B'Elanna married the helmsman, and Kathryn had been named the Godmother of their daughter. Now, Seven was married to her former First Officer, Chakotay, and living in Arizona while working at the Daystrom Institute. They got together once a week to keep in touch, but it wasn't the same.

"Are we going in, Mama Kate?" asked the little girl at her side. Miral Paris was a beautiful child and, despite her initial reservations, Kathryn loved the girl as if she were her own.

"We are, little one." Kathryn smiled down at her.

Taking the child's hand, she nodded past the Temple guards, who recognized her from previous visits, and entered the Temple.

"Umm, Mama Kate, this ain't right." Miral stated simply, looking around.

Kathryn had to agree. Instead of the inner chamber of the Temple, Kathryn found herself looking around her Ready Room of Voyager.

"Ah, mon capitán, we've been waiting for you."

Kathryn closed her eyes. She prayed to Kahless. She prayed to the Prophets of Bajor. She prayed to any and every deity she could think of that she wasn't hearing THAT voice.

"Ah, Kathy, don't be like that." Q pouted. "You know you love me."

"Q." She said in a low, dangerous voice that sent shivers down even his spine. "I am here to honor lost friends. Why are you bothering me?"

"I'm sorry, Captain Janeway, but I asked him get you." A young brunette stepped into view from behind Q. "I need your help."

Kathryn studied the girl for a quiet moment. She didn't look like a member of the Q Continuum. "Who are you?"

"In another dimension, my name is Dawn Summers." The girl said. "My sister is fighting a war. She will win, but it will cost her. She'll be betrayed and cast out by her family, even me. She'll be mortally wounded, but she will eventually recover. In the end, she and others like her will be hunted by the very people that she's fighting to protect."

"What does this have to do with me?" Kathryn demanded. "Why is Q here, and why should I believe anything he's involved with?"

"The enemy that they are fighting, doesn't just impact their dimension, but all of time and space." Q told her, unusually serious. "It dates back to the beginning of time and space. It is the opposite of creation, and at this moment, it is bent on destroying the only Line that was created to be the first and best life of defense against this enemy. The Continuum has been watching this enemy, as have other celestial groups. Its power rises and falls with the birth of every new dimension, and recently regained enough power to try to destroy the Line again. Fortunately, it has found itself up against the greatest Champion ever to be born from that Line, and it is she that Dawn needs help with. Dawn here is not merely the young girl you see before you. Her origins also predate the Universe. She is called The Key Between Dimensions. Her sentience gained an understanding of the concept of 'Time' when, at one point in time, the portion of her essence that existed in their dimension was being hunted and needed protecting. She was sent to this Warrior as her sister, and that Warrior gave her life to keep her safe."

"This is not a trick, Captain." Dawn added when she still looked doubtful. "No games, no hidden agendas. The First can be defeated, but never destroyed. If Humanity manages to eliminate the Slayer Line, there will be nothing to stop it from fulfilling it's plans."

"I know that she'll never leave before The First is defeated, but I can get her out before Humanity turns on them, but I need your help to do it. If events play out as they should, Buffy will lose faith in Humanity, and her family, long before the Humans turn on her. I need you to help her fight the First Evil, and make sure certain events don't happen." Dawn told her. "To answer your other questions, Q is not the only one here." She pointed behind her and Kathryn turned to see Miral talking to a large Klingon Warrior while trying to capture several pulsing dots of lights. "Kahless is involved because he was enraged at the idea of honorable warriors being slaughtered for no reason and he wished to merge their bloodline with the Klingon Race. The Bajoran Prophets are here also, but they haven't told me their reason. The Vulcan Holy Ones is also dipped their 'logical' fingers in this. I bet if I saw one of them, they'd be in the Vulcan version of 'tweed'." Janway suddenly smiled as the girl rolled her eyes expressively. "Q is involved because the outcome of this is serious enough to make even the Q Continuum stand up and take notice. Besides, I need Q to get you to Sunnydale and for your payment."

"My payment?" Kathryn said, startled. "What would I be getting out of this?"

"We've heard your wishes to do it over again, and possibly bring more of your crew home." Q told her. "I can send you back, with your current memories intact, without temporal repercussions. You can do it again and make different choices. We're offering you a second chance in the Delta Quadrant."

"What about the TimeKeepers?"

"They're the ones that suggested it. The catch to it is that you can't use the same method to return home. You'll know what will happen if you attempt to find that wormhole. You'll be flying right back in the middle of that battle, and it would all be for nothing, so it's off limits. They also have a vested interest in the protection of this Line." Dawn told her. "The First is trying to gain enough power to revert everything back to the beginning where it's power is the greatest. Becoming corporeal is the first step, and the most important. Although Buffy will defeat it, the repercussions will reveal all the secrets to the public, and there will be a massive witch-hunt. Humanity will accomplish what The First couldn't. It will wipe out the Slayer Line."

"Slayer?"

"The Slayer Line is what we're trying to save. You can ask Giles for more specifics when you get there." Dawn told her. "Please, Captain, will you help me save my sister?"

After glancing over to be sure that Miral was fully occupied, Kathryn moved over to the viewport where she used to look at the warp field while thinking. She thought about the pros and cons of what they were asking, and the reward that they were offering. A chance to do it again, and make different choices. Maybe bring more of her people home, like B'Elanna. She wasn't delusional enough to know that those possible choices would necessarily be better then the original ones, but at least with her current knowledge, she'd have a decided advantage that she hadn't had the first time. But, she still had one concern. "What about Miral?"

This time it was Kahless that answered. "She will still be born to my lost daughter. She will be the first of a new generation of warriors to bring honor to her House name."

"If I do this, how will it help your sister?"

"Some time after the final battle, before the witch-hunt begins, the current Slayers will be given a choice to stay and take their chances or leave the dimension. Some will chose to leave, because it is impossible for them to kill a human without serious repercussions. They will be taken to a safe place and put in your path in the Delta Quadrant."

"You're telling me an awful lot." Kathryn suddenly turned to Dawn. "I usually don't get this much information when one of you godly types need help."

Dawn grinned. "Well, first of all, I'm not a 'godly type', and I'll tell you anything I want to. Second, you won't remember everything after you leave here, but it will come back to you in increments when you need it the most."

Kathryn's brow rose as she smirked conspiratorially at the girl, oddly unperturbed about losing the memories. A spark had flickered to life deep inside of her that she thought gone forever. "I'll do it."


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

"Status." Captain Kathryn Janeway demanded.

"They're still closing in." Ensign Harry Kim reported. "They'll be in range for a tractor beam in fifteen seconds."

_Seven of Nine to Captain Janeway._

"What is it, Seven?" Kathryn responded.

_We are approaching region of space that the Borg have not been able to access. I am not sure what the nebula contains, but something within it has consistently destroyed Borg technology._

"Transmit the coordinates to the helm." Kathryn ordered. "Evasive maneuvers, Mr. Paris. Avoid that tractor beam and get us into that space."

"Yes, ma'am." Tom Paris answered just before everyone swayed as he suddenly banked the ship to the side. "Altering course now."

"What if whatever's destroying the Borg destroys us as well?" Chakotay asked.

"We'll have to take that chance." The captain answered. "Seven, report to the bridge."

_Yes, Captain._ Seven answered.

A few minutes later, Seven of Nine, ex-Borg formerly of Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero-One, strode onto the bridge and immediately moved to the auxiliary ops console.

"Tell me about this nebula." Kathryn ordered.

"There is not much information." Seven told her. "There is a beacon in the center of the nebula with first attracted the sphere, but there is an entity within the nebula which destroyed each sphere or cube that tried to pass through it."

"It is dangerous to anything else?" Chakotay asked.

"Unknown." The ex-Borg answered. "There are no planets for several lightyears in any direction surrounding the nebula and no species that the Borg has assimilated has knowledge of passing through it."

"We're approaching the nebula, captain." Tuvok announced.

"Take us in." She ordered. "On screen."

The sleek ship plunged into the green mist without hesitation. They watched nervously as the cube followed and Kathryn threw a look over her shoulder at her Astrometrics officer. Suddenly, both Voyager and the cube stopped mid-motion.

"Report!" Kathryn demanded, turning back to her helmsman.

"I'm not sure, Captain." Paris answered, fingers flying over the console. "All systems are operational. We just stopped for no reason."

"The Borg cube has also been stopped." Tuvok reported.

Before anyone could respond, a large swirling ball of green light formed in front of the ship. It shimmered in front of them for several minutes, and Kathryn got the distinct impression that it was studying them. Suddenly, it shot forward and enveloped the starship. Before anyone could respond, a wave a warm green light swept through the decks.

"We are being scanned." Tuvok reported. "As well as the Borg cube."

"**You are not welcome here."** The voice sounded as if it were all around them, but somehow the crew knew that it was not directed at them. **"Leave this place or be destroyed."**

"**We are the Borg."** Came the expected response. **"You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile."**

The voice chuckled. **"I don't think so."**

The bridge crew's eyes widened as the Borg cube suddenly began sparking with bolts of green lightning. A moment later, parts of the cube began exploding. Then, it seemed as if the mist began to converge on the disintegrating ship and the bodies that were sucked out into space. A few minutes later, there was nothing left of the Borg or the cube.

Everyone looked at each other, then turned to look at Seven. Kathryn knew that they were wondering what their crewmate had led them into. If this was a case of 'out of the frying pan, into the fire'. Before anyone could speak, however, the green light appeared in the ship again, this time in front of the Captain.

"I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager." She said, rising to her feet. "We mean no harm. We were merely trying to escape the Borg. We did not know that this was your space."

"**I know who you are, Kathryn Janeway."** The voice spoke, this time much gentler. **"I have been waiting for you for a long time."**

Without warning, the light surged forward and entered the Captain. Kathryn collapsed where she stood, not hearing the shouts of her crew.

- - - BtVS - - ST:Voyager - - -

'_As with all secrets, tell only who you trust.'_

That was the first thing she heard as Admiral Kathryn Janeway awoke. Cautiously, she opened her eyes to stare up at a familiar ceiling that she hadn't seen in five years. She gasped and tears welled up in her eyes. _They did it. They kept their promise._

"Captain?" Her view was suddenly blocked by the concerned face of the EMH doctor. "How are you feeling?"

Sitting up, Kathryn looked around the room, breathing in the scents. She had never appreciated being in Sickbay, but for now, it was the most wonderful sight she'd laid her eyes on in many years.

"Sickbay to the Bridge." The Doctor called out. "The captain is awake."

_On our way._ Chakotay replied.

A few minutes later, Chakotay and Tuvok entered Sickbay. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Kathryn answered even as the Doctor scanned her. "What's our status?"

"After the energy being attacked you, we tried to retreat." Chakotay reported. "Unfortunately, we still can't move. There is nothing wrong with the engines or the systems, but we're completely immobile. However, we have picked up the beacon that Seven mentioned."

"Set a course for that beacon." Kathryn told him.

"Captain, we still can't move." Chakotay reminded her.

"On the contrary, Commander." Kathryn said. "That's the only direction we will be allowed to move in."

Chakotay stared at her for a moment, then looked to Tuvok, then the Doctor, then back to the captain. Kathryn barely managed not to roll her eyes. "Is there a problem, Commander?"

"Captain, that energy being electrocuted you the same way it did the Borg vessel. You were physically lifted off the deck as you were convulsing. Are you sure you're all right?"

Tuvok quirked a brow raised at Kathryn's deep sigh and she knew, despite any Vulcan denials to the contrary, that he was as close to being amused as he could become. She turned to the Doctor, indicating that he should respond instead. The EMH shrugged. "She's perfectly fine. Her body chemistry is erratic, conducive to what you've told me, but already stabilizing."

"Good." Kathryn stated, hopping off the bio-bed. "Commander, set Tom on that course and call in the senior staff. I'll explain."

Without a backward glance, Kathryn left, Tuvok at her side. Chakotay and the Doctor glanced at each other for a moment before Chakotay hurried to catch up. Twenty minutes later, the ship was moving once again and the senior staff was gathered in the conference room.

"Captain, we're not moving the ship." Tom said when she arrived on the bridge. "The engines shut down right before we started moving."

"Don't worry about it, Tom. It will be all right. Let's get started."

"The energy being is actually the entire nebula." Kathryn began. "In an alternate dimension, an enemy was wiping out a Line of Warriors, and the last remaining children of that Line needed to be moved, and it used Q to do it." She held up her hand when she saw them about to comment. "This is no game. It was waiting for me because of Q's 'glowing recommendation' that I could be trusted to bring them safely out of their stasis and find them a home."

"How can you trust this, captain?" B'Elanna asked. "We know you can't trust Q any further than you could throw him."

"I agree, but even though he may not tell everything he knows, the one thing he's never done is lied." Kathryn responded. "Besides, Q is merely being an intermediary, and that alone indicated to me just how serious this situation is. Q has never been the type to work for anyone else."

"How many children are we talking about?" Chakotay posed the next question. "And where are we going to put them?"

"I don't know, to both questions, but when I say 'children', I don't mean little kids. Most of them are in their late teens, or a little older, and there are a few that are in their late twenties to early thirties."

"How do you know all of this?" Tuvok asked.

"I was wondering who was going to ask that one." Kathryn smirked. "The energy being told me. These people have undergone genetic changes, so I want to you look them over Doctor. What made them special in their dimension is not applicable to the laws of this dimension."

"What were they before?" B'Elanna asked.

"That I wasn't told." The hesitation of her answer wasn't noticeable to most of them, but Kathryn saw Tuvok's brow rise, as well as Seven's. They would realize that, while she wasn't lying, she wasn't exactly telling the truth, either.

"Is this really wise?" Chakotay repeated B'Elanna's earlier concern. "We already know that Q can't be trusted. We don't know this entity at all. We could be pawns in some cosmic crapshoot for all we know."

"In this case, that exactly what were are, but what choice do we have?" Kathryn asked him. "We can only go to the beacon. Until we get that far, I don't have any other answers. When we get to the beacon, whatever it is, Tuvok and Seven are going with me down there. I need B'Elanna to stay with the engines, and Chakotay, I need you to stay on the bridge. Continue monitoring all systems and report any changes. Dismissed."


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

B'Elanna Torres, the half-Human, half-Klingon, Chief Engineer of Voyager, sat in her quarters in a rare moment of inactivity. With the entity outside controlling the motion and speed of the ship, Engineering had been given a rare full department 'Day Off' after the Captain had assured her that nothing was affecting her precious engines. She had been in her quarters long enough to get out of her uniform when the door chimed.

"Hold on a minute." She yelled, grabbing a robe. Shrugging it on, she opened the door. "Captain?"

"I need a favor, B'Elanna," Kathryn said before realizing that the other woman was only wearing a robe. Her eyes widened slightly as she felt her body react. In a few years, she would get to know that body _very_ well. "I apologize. Should I come back later?"

"Ah, no, come on in." B'Elanna glanced down at herself. "Let me just grab something."

Kathryn entered the quarters and waited for B'Elanna to return. After a few minutes, the other woman return in an outfit that the Admiral recognized, and she suppressed an indulgent smile. "The people that we're picking up are two branches of the same species. They are warriors and psychics. The leader of the warrior line is the one I need your help with. She has lead a very hard life and, although she has a best friend, I think she could do with someone who wasn't involved, and with your strength, you might be able to match her if she needs to vent."

"Match her?" B'Elanna asked, confused. "Vent?"

"She's had to do a lot in her life." Kathryn told her, picking her words carefully. "In their dimension, they were human, with special abilities, and they had to grow up too fast. Here, they had to be changed, because what made them special is not viable in this dimension."

Now, B'Elanna was intrigued. "Can you tell me more?"

"No." Kathryn told her. "I just want to know if you could do this for me. I've also asked Lt. Ro, who's already agreed."

"Sure, Captain. I'll give a shot."

_Bridge to Captain Janeway_

Kathryn tapped her communicator. "Janeway here."

_Captain, you might want to see this._ Chakotay's voice sounded strained.

Kathryn and B'Elanna exchanged before they both left the engineer's quarters and headed for the turbolift.

"Bridge." Kathryn said as the doors closed.

"Kahless." B'Elanna breathed as they stepped onto the bridge. In the center of the bridge, the crew watched as a small blonde fought her way thought a group of men with strange faces in what looked like an ancient nightclub of some sorts. Every time the girl stabbed one of the attackers, the attacker disintegrated and vanished from the illusion. "What is this?"

"Captain, I'm getting reports of similar illusions on several decks, including sickbay and the mess hall." Tuvok reported. "There are several where a young woman is fighting alone, as well as several where she fighting with a team."

"Captain, I'm getting M-Class readings at the location of the beacon." Harry reported suddenly. "There are also life signs."

"How many?" Chakotay asked.

"About 25." The lieutenant replied. "They're about 15 feet below the surface. The beacon seems to be transmitting about 3 kilometers from where the life signs are concentrated, above the surface. There are also strange readings on the surface of the planet."

"Strange in what way?" Tuvok asked, checking his own sensors.

"Strange as in there is no correlation in our databases." Harry said, confused. "I don't understand it."

"How long before we orbiting the planet?" The captain interrupted before he could continue. Now just was not the time.

"At current speed, about ten minutes." Tom answered.

"Let me know when we get there. I'll be in my Ready Room."

- - - BtVS - - ST:Voyager - - -

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the planet. Only, it wasn't a planet, it was a large landmass freefloating in the nebula.

It was Sunnydale.

"Oh. My. God." Kathryn stared at the viewscreen in wide-eyed shock.

Five minutes later, Kathryn, Seven and Tuvok energized onto the surface.

"Captain, are you all right?" Seven asked, watching the older woman curiously.

"Hello, Admiral." A young brunette appeared in a swirl of green mist.

"Hello, Dawn." Kathryn smiled. "I'd say that it's been a long time, but for me, it really hasn't."

Dawn laughed.

"Are you whole once again?"

Dawn nodded. "My human body died some time ago. I am complete now, including the part of me that you knew in Sunnydale. How much do you remember?"

"Almost everything." Kathryn told her. "Although I think there's still some things that I'm still missing."

The brunette chuckled. "You're right, but I'm not going to spoil it for you. That's not the deal. I can tell you the first part of the test though. You have to get to the vineyard, retrieve the Scythe, and get it to Buffy."

"You make it sound so simple." Kathryn said dryly. "Let me guess. Everything is here for the party, Caleb is guarding the Scythe and Buffy is in the Hellmouth."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because that's the worst case scenario, so that makes the most sense."

Dawn laughed again. "And you wondered why she had no problems following your lead. However, that's not exactly what's waiting for you, but I can't you what is. Get to the beacon, Admiral. Good luck."

Kathryn nodded and motioned for Tuvok and Seven to follow as she started walking.

"Hey, Kathryn." Kathryn turned back to the young woman.. "She honored your memory when you died. She became a real leader following your example. You would have been proud of her."

Then she was gone in another swirl of green mist. For a moment, Kathryn stood frozen as the words settled deep inside of her.

"I do not understand, Captain." Seven interrupted her thoughts. "How is it that you know the entity. This nebula formed many centuries before you were stranded in the Delta Quadrant."

"I think the more interesting question," Tuvok interjected. "is why did the entity call you 'Admiral' instead of 'Captain'."

Kathryn smirked and nodded her head for them to continue. "Come on. I'll explain as we walk. This is not a place to linger around here in the dark."

So, they continued and she explained about being from the future and the situation that gave the Timekeepers reason to allow her return to her own past without temporal repercussions as long as what happened wasn't too widely known. She told them about the final years of their trek home and about the rash of battles that had killed most of the senior staff and more than half of the crew. She told them about the betrayals by Starfleet and the Federation when they finally did return, all under the disguise of strain from the war with the Dominion.

"Betrayals?" Tuvok asked when she paused.

"The pardon for the Marquis was amended, forcing them into service for a minimum of five standard years." Kathryn explained, still furious over it. "Neelix was taken away and interrogated extensively about the Delta Quadrant, and if I hadn't made prior arrangements, I don't think Seven would have made it off of Starfleet grounds." She took a breath to regain control of her anger. "The future that awaits us in the Alpha Quadrant can't be tackled at this point, but our future here is already off course just by being chased into this nebula. The first time, the cube that was chasing us was destroyed when we torpedoed the transwarp conduit. It took a lot of interference to divert the past without temporal repercussions, and it was all so that these people could be saved."

"That is illogical." Tuvok stated.

"Not really." Kathryn countered. "Not when you take into account that these people are the greatest weapon we have against an enemy so terrible, even the Q Continuum and the Timekeepers are worried."

"What do you intend to do?" Seven asked.

"We'll continue on. Regardless of what I know, the majority of us still have families that we want to see again." Kathryn told them. "However, here on Voyager, we're going to start melding together a little more. We've considered ourselves a family for a long time now, and it's time to start acting like it. Turn the ship into something resembling a fledgling colony. It's also time we got proactive instead of reactive. Again, regardless of what I know, there is still the chance that we could become stranded here. We've made some good friends in the Delta Quadrant, but we made bigger enemies. We need to establish relationships, as well as fortify Voyager. In my future past, I've come across certain types of upgrades that we can implement if we can come up with a feasible explanation. Also, we should start thinking about creating our own trade goods. A lot of the crew have artistic tendencies, if the various holodeck programs are any indications. Artwork, jewelry, games, even holo-programs from the various cultures on board would be worth trading if we could get them together. Although Voyager is not a generational ship, we're going to have to make allowances. There are eight years between now and when we discovered the wormhole, and even then, we hadn't known that it led to the Alpha Quadrant when we entered it. We can't keep these people from having children if they want."

"We will have to find someway to restructure the crew for the necessary space." Tuvok acknowledged.

"I know. We're also going to have to create a safety zone to shield them during attacks." She stopped, pulling a bag from her shoulders. Setting it on the ground, she opened it and handed them each several pieces of sharpened wood. "Take these. The beings that we're going to encounter are monsters. They do not bow to logic or reason. There will be no negotiation. Kill them quickly and keep moving. Use the stakes first on the ones that look sort of like Klingons. They have ridged foreheads, yellow eyes and very sharp teeth. Stab them in the heart as you saw the girl do in the illusion on the bridge. After you run out of stakes, use the phaser rifles to remove their heads from the bodies. Any other monsters, kill them any way you can."

"Yes, Captain."

"Aye, Captain."


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

The first thing Kathryn did when they finally reached 1630 Revello Drive was collapse on the couch in exhaustion. It had been a hard fight just getting here. The moment they entered the town proper, they had been attacked by vampires and minor demons. They had converged on the first fresh blood they had scented in centuries like a swarm of rabid locusts. She knew that her companions had questions, even Tuvok, but for the moment, they were restraining themselves.

"Captain, according to these readings, the beacon is in this domicile." Tuvok stated. "It is coming from up those stairs."

"Check it out while I catch my breath." Kathryn said. "Seven, keep an eye on the windows, will you?"

"Of course, Captain." Seven responded.

After a few minutes, Kathryn stood and wandered around the house. Running gentle fingers over familiar surfaces like she had done on her beloved ship before she had beamed down to the planet. Entering the kitchen where she had sat up with Buffy when she couldn't sleep even after a night filled with fighting. She opened the refrigerator, and blinked in surprise. There was food and drink inside. Quesadillas and a chilled café con leche, along with reheating instructions. Her mouth immediately began to water.

"Ohhh, thank you, Dawn." Kathryn said, grabbing the tupperware and opening it. "Seven, do me a favor and scan these for the replicators, will you."

With a raised brow, Seven complied with the request, as well as checking to make sure it was safe, as Kathryn turned on the ancient Earth-style conventional oven. She had followed the captain as she moved around the domicile with familiarity. It made her curious, but she knew that the captain would explain when she was ready.

"Captain, I believe you should see this." Tuvok called down from upstairs.

"Be right there, Tuvok." Kathryn responded, putting the food in the oven and setting the timer. "Come on, Seven."

"Yes, Captain."

The two women climbed the stairs and made their way to Buffy's room, where they could see Tuvok standing in the doorway. He stepped aside as they approached, and Kathryn froze at the sight before her. There, in the center of the room, was her bat'leth. She had never expected to see the weapon again after she had been killed in that final battle. She approached the showcase slowly, resting her fingers on the glass in reverence.

"It appears as if the showcase itself is the beacon." Tuvok reported. "Captain?"

"I was sent here to Sunnydale with this bat'leth." She told them softly. "It was Kahless' contribution to the battle. I wasn't allowed to bring modern weapons, and even if I could, they could only use weapons considered ancient even in their time. I could use this because, even though it is a future weapon, it is still just a bladed weapon. I taught Buffy how to use it."

"Buffy?" Seven asked, her voice as soft as the captain's.

"Buffy Summers, Dawn's sister." Kathryn pointed to a picture on the dresser. It showed the brunette they had met outside of town hugging a shorter blonde, who was obviously older. "She was a young woman grown old before her time."

She opened the glass door just as the timer went off. She looked towards the door, then back at the case, clearly torn. Finally, she sighed and closed the case again. _It's not going anywhere_, she assured herself. "Let's eat."

- - - BtVS - - ST:Voyager - - -

"That was... interesting." Seven commented.

They had just finished the quesadillas. Kathryn had convinced Seven to try the dish, but Tuvok declined. Kathryn was currently sipping the cafe con leche, sitting back in her chair. She had told them more about her time in Sunnydale with the Buffy and the Slayers, even explaining the significance of the black robed creatures that had caused her to pick up their pace when heading for the house. There was an inflection in her voice that caused Tuvok's brow to rise slightly, but he kept silent.

"You care for this Buffy Summers?" Seven was not so discreet.

Kathryn nodded. "I do. She taught me almost as much as I taught her. I remember sitting on the back porch with her, just looking up at the stars. I missed being out there, even though it had been my choice to accept the Admiralty promotion. I was telling her stories about the couples that had formed over the years on Voyager, and she asked me if I had had someone back then. I told her that the captain didn't fraternize with her crew. When she asked me why, I explained the reasons behind the rule. Do you know what she said?"

Seven shook her head, intrigued despite herself.

"She said that didn't make any sense. She said that rules like that don't apply if we're cut off from everyone else. Alone, with only ourselves to rely on, we had to make our family where we could."

"Is this why you are proposing the changes?" Tuvok asked.

"Partly." Kathryn nodded, her gaze distant. "I saw the way they lived. In world full of people, they were just as stranded in Sunnydale as we are here in the Delta Quadrant, even when the town was full. Instead of holding herself apart, Buffy and her friends drew closer. It was... definitely something to think about." Finally, she focused on her officers again. "Come on, let's get loaded up and keep moving. Buffy's weapons chest is also in her room."

Back in the upstairs bedroom, Kathryn pointed out the weapons chest before opening the showcase again and removing her weapon. The moment she touched it, more memories of her time with Dawn and the other great powers of this dimension formed. An agreement after she had been killed from the blow that was meant for Buffy. Leaving the other two rummaging through the chest, she went downstairs into the living room for more space. Starting out with a simple exercise, she swung the bat'leth to familiarize this younger body with the weight and feel of the Klingon weapon. The longer she wielded the weapon, the smoother the movements became, until she was once again moving like the Master she was. Finally coming to a halt, oddly unfatigued despite the complicated kata she ended with, she noticed that Seven and Tuvok had at some point come downstairs and had been watching her. Both had raised eyebrows, which Kathryn interpreted as surprised curiosity.

"I've learned a lot of things during that first life." Kathryn shrugged. "Are you ready to head back out?"

_Chakotay to Away Team. Please respond._

Kathryn tapped her communicator. "Go ahead."

_Are you all right, Captain? We've been trying to hail you for over an hour, since we start those strange life sign reading converging on your location. We've lost the transporter lock and can't beam anyone else down to you. We've also lost function of the docking bay doors, so we can't send a shuttle._

"I guess I should have expected something like that." Kathryn sighed. "I understand, Chakotay, thank you. Looks like we're not leaving until this thing is played out. Continue to track our positions and monitor our life signs. The moment the transporters come back online, transport all Human and Vulcan based energy signals directly to Sickbay. We're about to head back out, so we will most likely lose communications again."

"Aye, Captain." They could almost hear the First Officer grinding his teeth in helpless frustration.

Shaking her head, knowing that he was going to make an issue of this when they finally returned, Kathryn put it out of her mind as she went back upstairs to get a few more weapons for herself.

"Captain." She heard Tuvok call her from downstairs. Something about the inflection in his voice made her hurry. "I have been monitoring the activity outside the perimeter of the gate. They have been moving about in restless, undisciplined patrols, but now they seem to have vanished."

"I concur." Seven added. "It is as if something has chased them away."

"Oh, that can't be good." Kathryn said.

- - - BtVS - - ST:Voyager - - -

Below the surface, a soul stirred, reacting to the pure evil manifesting above ground despite the deeply induced sleep of stasis. In the centuries between the time they entered the Great Sleep and the present, evolution moved on within them, regardless of the changes in their essences and uninhibited by the stasis that bound them. The spirit of Buffy Summers, the oldest and the strongest of the beings known as Slayers in another universe, was drawn from the comforting oblivion of her dreamless sleep as the manifesting of the most ancient of her enemy came to this place where they did not belong.

'_Buffy, you have to come to me now.'_

'_Dawn?' _Buffy mumbled sleepily as her spirit stepped away from her still slumbering body. _'Where are you?'_

'_Buffy, Kathryn needs your help.' _The Key ignored the question as irrelevant. _'As usual, The First is cheating. Only vampires and lower level demons were supposed to be formed on this temporary world. He has created several Turok-Han to tip the scales of the fight in His favor.'_

Buffy's eyes widened. The previous hazel color had changed during her alteration to a deep amber color. Then, just as quickly, those eyes narrowed and her teeth bared in a snarl._ "That son of a bitch. Where is He?"_

"_I will take you to Kathryn and her companions. You can join with the Admiral to fight the First, but you cannot do it on your own. The First is more powerful here, and will be fighting personally, not through a chosen champion."_

"_Just take me to her. We'll handle the rest."_


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

If they thought the trek to Revello Drive was hard, then the trek to the vineyard was brutal. Kathryn's worst nightmare, the Turok-Han, had made a grand appearance when it attacked the trio not long after they left the haven of the house. She shouted to her officers to aim for its heart as she blocked its first attack. It had taken multiple high intensity shots as Kathryn diverted its attention by attacking it with her bat'leth, before the phaser fire penetrated its skin and cripple it enough for further shots to incinerate it's heart.

"Damn it, this wasn't part of the agreement!" Kathryn snapped furiously.

"I do not understand." Tuvok said.

"The First Evil exists in every dimension." Kathryn explained. "When it found out that I was from this dimension, it immediately made it known that it intended to destroy this dimension in retaliation for my interference, and without me, the Slayers would never be awakened. Dawn made a deal with it. It would create this world to safeguard the Slayers. The agreement was, while the Slayers were in stasis in the Hellmouth, The First had control of the surface, but it couldn't create anything more than the normal denizens of the town. Modern vampires and minor demons. I have to face off against The First to be able to awaken the Slayers. The Turok-Han are a more primitive form of vampires, and much more powerful. They were not supposed to be allowed here."

"What do you wish to do, Captain?" Tuvok asked.

"We keep moving and stay on guard." She answered, her voice hard as duranium. "I'm not going to let The First win this. If I defeat The First here, not only will I be able to awaken Buffy and the others, but The First will not be allowed to start building its power-base again for a millennium, in any dimension." She continued to explain about the agreement that had been made. "The First was allowed to create the monsters here, so that when the time came, it could absorb the evil energy from them to become temporarily corporeal. It will also use them to maintain it's strength, but with the Turok-Han, it'll be stronger than allowed."

"How do you intend to defeat such an obviously superior power?" Seven asked, a little worried despite herself. Kathryn was her friend.

"It will be a fair fight." Kathryn assured her. "Dawn will make sure of that."

- - - BtVS - - ST:Voyager - - -

Buffy watched them as they fought their way through Sunnydale. She wanted to see the fighting abilities of these two that Kathryn had chosen to fight beside her. As she watched them fight, she idly picked up broken tree branch and dusted a vamp that was trying to sneak up on them. She continued to follow, taking out the occasional vampire, demon or Bringer that were also following.

She studied this new Kathryn. She knew that the Admiral's consciousness was supposed to be transferred into her past, but she didn't expect this. Kathryn had been beautiful when she had come to Sunnydale, even with the age lines around her eyes and mouth and the scattering of grey hair. She wondered how different that body felt from the older one. Were the muscles as firm? Was her ass? She licked her lips with an aroused leer as she studied the anatomy in question, before she realized that her mind had wandered and shook her head to refocus.

When the next Turok-Han attacked, Buffy waited to make sure that it was the only one, then settled to watch Kathryn's companions way of fighting as they were surrounded by the Bringers that had attacked alongside the uber-vamp. The dark-skinned man moved with an almost supernatural speed and strength. The woman was even faster. From the descriptions in previous discussions, Buffy realized that this must be Tuvok, the Vulcan Security Chief and Seven of Nine, the former Borg drone. The woman that Kathryn had loved in her old life. They fought with lethal intent and little comment. Although Buffy was sure that the Slayers could take them if necessary, she was also sure that she wouldn't want these two for enemies. Finally, she smiled proudly as Kathryn finally beheaded the uber-vamp, and quietly followed as they continued moving.

- - - BtVS - - ST:Voyager - - -

The ambush happened just outside the vineyard. If it hadn't been for the sixth sense that Kathryn had developed in Sunnydale, they would have been overrun, but it had been screaming bloody murder at her for the last 10 feet of their trek. Tuvok and Seven naturally took their cues from her, trusting in their Captain as they always had. The recent attacks had been vastly different then the ones before. The movements were completely silent, even to Borg enhanced and Vulcan superior hearing. It had only been the Captain's state of almost paranoid alertness, that gave them that split second of reaction time that may have saved their lives. This time it was two Turok-Han attacking, along with a dozen or so Bringers and modern vampires.

Both of the Turok-Han had started immediately for Kathryn, but Seven snared one's attention by throwing a knife into it's back. With an enraged roar, it turned at leapt at her with a speed that almost caught her off guard, but she was Borg, and Borg were experts at adapting. At the last moment, she sidestepped the attack, grabbing a blade from the sheath at her back and slicing open the creature's side. Before she could follow up, however, the blade was kicked from her hand and she found herself surrounded by Bringers and vampires. She dispatched them as quickly as she could, and turned to see where the Turok-Han had gone, only to see it in hand-to-hand battle with a transparent spirit-like apparition of the blonde from the photograph, Buffy Summers. The longer she fought, the more solid her form became until she grabbed the creature's head and twisted sharply. The sound of its neck snapping was unnaturally loud, but managed to draw the attention of the other creatures that had been attacking. The vampires took one look at the newcomer, and took off as fast as they could. Seven had not seen a reaction like that since her time as a drone. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Tuvok had taken the opportunity to finish off the remaining Bringers and assist the Captain, but she could not take her eyes off the woman before her as she picked up one of the boards that had been smashed off of the vineyard fence, and ram the broken off pointed end deep into the Turok-Han's chest.

After a moment, Kathryn and Tuvok appeared at her side. They watched as the now completely solid Buffy straightened and turned to them. "Hey, Kathryn."

Seven glanced over at Kathryn. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was hanging open in astonishment. It was the first time Seven had ever seen the unflappable captain at a complete loss.

"Buffy?" Kathryn said incredulously. "What? How?"

"Well, Dawn is evening the playing field, so to speak." Buffy said as she approached them. "Since The First is cheating, Dawn drew my spirit out of my body to help you. My body is still down there with the others, waiting for you."

By now, the blonde was standing directly in from of Kathryn. Before anyone could react, she closed the distance between herself and her former lover and kissed her with all the passion that had been building since she'd first caught sight of the redhead. Now it was Seven's turn for wide eyes. Tuvok merely watched it all with his customary Vulcan implacability, but even his brow rose when Kathryn moaned into the kiss and captured those blonde tresses in a tight grip to hold her in place. It took a moment, but Kathryn was able to tear herself away, managing to capture Buffy's hand before it got any lower than the base of her spine. The younger woman had always had an amazing fascination with her ass. She whispered something too low for even the enhanced hearing of her officers. Buffy shook her head then, after a small stare down, finally nodded, but the expression on her face told them all that it was only a temporary agreement.

Picking up the bat'leth that she had dropped when Buffy kissed her, Kathryn turned to her officers. "Let's go."

The walk up the vineyard path was blessedly uneventful. Just as they reached the old building, the wooden doors swung open. They approached cautiously, and suddenly, Kathryn had to grab Buffy by the arm and hold her back. Standing in the middle of the room was Kathryn Janeway, a cruel smile on her face and dressed like she had raided Faith's closet. In her hand, however, was Buffy's scythe.

"Well, well, well, Kathryn Janeway." The First Evil sneered. "I've been waiting for you."

Kathryn didn't respond. In Sunnydale, the real one, The First had never used her image, and for the first time, Kathryn realized how unsettling it was to see your own face and know that it hides the greatest evil that ever existed. It had been hard seeing it use Buffy's face, but this was different on so many levels. Her insides were screaming at the wrongness of seeing such malevolence in her own face. At her back, she could feel Buffy nearly vibrating with rage, and idly wondered if it was because The First was using her face, or because The First was using Buffy's scythe. Knowing the Slayer, it was probably the former. She hated it when her enemies used the people that she loved, no matter what the context.

"Nothing to say?" The First taunted. "No matter. Come to me, Mortal. We have business to attend to."

"You know, I wondered why you always reverted back to Buffy's image whenever we confronted you." Kathryn said conversationally. "That is one of the most unnerving things I've ever encountered. Unfortunately for you, it's not THE most unnerving thing. Hell, even Buffy got used to it after the first few times. You need new moves."

She pulled up the bat'leth to block the first, sudden blow, and smiled at successfully goading her doppelganger into making the first move.

_Chakotay to Tuvok_

Tuvok touch his comm badge. "Tuvok here."

_What's going on down there, Tuvok? A fight just appeared on every screen on the ship. It looks like the Captain is fighting herself._

Tuvok's brow rose. "It is... complicated, and I do not know enough to explain it adequately."

_We're still not able to get a transporter lock on your signals. Even a skeletal lock isn't working._

"I suspect that you will not succeed until this contest has been decided." Tuvok informed him. "There are many forces at work here. It is all up to the Captain now. We are not allowed to interfere."

The fight was vicious and, in the beginning, it seemed that Kathryn and her evil twin were evenly matched. There were flashes of green and black light whenever the bat'leth and scythe struck each other, reminding Tom of the classic science fiction movies of battles between good and evil that he used to watch with his friends in high school.

Then, it seemed as if the Evil Janeway gained the upper hand, becoming stronger and faster her opponent. Its form began to blur from enhanced speed and each blow it landed to the Captain's body send the Human flying several feet. Tuvok and Seven tried to rush to her aid, but found that they couldn't move too far into the room.

"Help her!" Seven snapped to Buffy, who was standing there watching with grim eyes.

"I can't." Buffy said, her voice dull.

"COMPLY!" Seven snarled.

_"I can't!" _Buffy turned to her, and Seven took an unconscious step back at the unbridled rage in her eyes. "I wish I could. I want to just as much as you do, but if I interfere, than that would be cheating, and Kathryn would lose."

"But the enemy has already 'cheated'." Tuvok reminded them. "Why should this be any different."

"He's the bad guy." Buffy explained. "His cheating was taken into account when the agreement was made, and had already been attended to. The good guys have to fight with honor, or The First can force a forfeit."

"Please explain the nature of this agreement." Tuvok requested. "Why is the Captain determined that this entity must be stopped."

"Take everything that you know about evil, multiply it by an infinite amount, give it unlimited power and blanket it across every universe and dimension, and you've just imagined The First. In my dimension, the laws of reality aren't quite as set in stone, and someone with the ability and the will can change it. We've got vampires and demons and everything else most people have been taught didn't exist outside of nightmares. Only there can the First gain enough power to become corporeal. Although I don't know if you've had them here." Buffy seemed to consider that for a moment, then dismissed it as unimportant. "Anyway, the deal here. To start regaining its power, it has to be able to manifest in our reality, and to do that, the Balance between Good and Evil has to be seriously upset. This time, it was because my friends brought me back from the dead and ripped me out of heaven. It's one of the few inviolate rules that The First _has_ to abide by but, if The First wins this battle, it can change that rule."

As Buffy spoke, they continued to watch as the Captain managed to land several blows with her weapon before being knocked away again. Even Tuvok flinched slightly as her small form crashed into a support beam. Somehow, though, Kathryn managed to regain her feet and continued to taunt her enemy.

"In addition to that, it will also have the right to kill the Slayers and others that are here, especially me. If Kathryn wins, however, The First will be banished to place where it can see and hear what goes on in each and every dimension, but cannot interact. No matter what imbalances occur, The First won't be able to take advantage for a thousand years. If the council stays on course, by the time The First is free, the Slayer will be more than ready for him."

Suddenly, Buffy fell to one knee. "Damn, Dawn, took you long enough." Her body began to fade before their eyes. She smirked at them. "I told you it had been taken care of."

Then she was gone, and Seven and Tuvok were forced to turn their attention back to the fight. To their astonishment, it seemed as though the Evil Janeway had once again gained the upper hand and managed to knock the Captain's weapon away. The Captain was laid out against the far wall, her hands wrapped around the handle of the scythe, barely managing to keep the weapon from cleaving her head in two.

"Did you really think that you could defeat me?" The First sneered. "I existed before space and time. Before those who 'arranged' this pathetic agreement. Before you were an obscure concept in the grand design. Do you realize who I am?"

"Someone who talks too much." Janeway snarled, shoving the scythe away from her face. She jumped to her feet and struck The First with a roundhouse kick that Seven had seen Buffy do just a short while ago, sending the doppelganger flying into several wine barrels on the other side of the room. Kathryn picked up her bat'leth and twirled it in her hands. "Did you really think The Key would let you get away with cheating like you did? She planned for it, knowing that you wouldn't be able to resist, and now I have the combined power of all the Slayers resting down below us."

For the first time since the fight began, the evil Janeway looked a little worried. Then the fight was truly on, and they were fighting as equal powers. They moved so fast that they blurred, and the only things their spectators could make out were the flashes of black and green lights, the sounds of the weapons striking each other and Kathryn snide remarks and caustic quips accompanied by the Evil Janeway's howls of fury and hate. They fought even faster, until the only way to track the battle was the lights and the appearance of strike marks and body sized holes in the building walls. Suddenly, it was over, and the Captain was standing over her evil twin with her bat'leth in one hand and the scythe in the other.

"You lose." Janeway panted, twirling the scythe in her hand, and plunging the sharpened end deep into The First's heart. With an unearthly scream of pain and rage, The First Evil exploded into shards of black energy and quickly dissipated.


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Kathryn Janeway, former fifty-eight year old Admiral of Starfleet Command, current forty-two year old Captain of the lost Federation Starship Voyager, was exhausted. After finally defeating the entity known as The First Evil, she had collapsed from sheer pain and fatigue. Her whole body hurt, and she was so tired that she could barely see straight, much less think coherently. Dimly, she felt herself being lifted gently and the voices that she heard sounded is if they were speaking from the other end of a long tunnel.

_Report, Tuvok_

"The Captain has sustained several broken bones, cracked ribs and multiple contusions. Majority of the lacerations are superficial, but there a few that are quite deep." Tuvok answered, scanning the Captain.

_We still can't get a transporter lock. Suggestions?_

"The Captain said that everything much be concluded." Seven said. "Logically, that means that she still has to awaken these 'Slayers' before it is considered 'over'."

Chakotay thought it over, and they waited for his word. _Fine. Give her a hypospray, and take her where she needs to go. Carry her if you have to. Let's get this thing done and get out of here._

Tuvok took the hypospray from the medkit and was about to press it to Kathryn's neck when he was stopped.

"I will take care of her injuries." Dawn said softly. "Then I will take you to the others."

The young brunette knelt down beside the fallen captain. "Thank you, Admiral." She whispered in Kathryn's ear before kissing her forehead. Janeway's body filled with a pale green light and her wounds began to heal and fade before their eyes. The glow brightened until Seven and Tuvok were forced to close their eyes against it and when they deemed it safe to see again, they found themselves in an underground cavern. All along the circular walls, and up at least 15 feet, where young women, and a few men, encased in pale green crystals. Tuvok tapped his communicator to request verification of their location, but all he got was static. The captain was once again on her feet, standing before the encased Buffy Summers. Kathryn eyes roamed over the peaceful features of the young woman that had been her lover in another life. It was the first time she had ever seen Buffy sleep without the unconscious twitching of her senses detecting the evil that had overrun her hometown. The stress lines that had made her look so much older than she really was were also gone. For that alone, Kathryn would have done it all again.

Taking a deep breath, Kathryn stepped back to examine the crystal encasing. She was about take the bat'leth and smash it when she noticed the indented handprint on the crystal where Buffy's hand was pressing against the inside. Eyes narrowing, she handed the weapons over to Seven and stepped forward again. Cautiously, she pressed her hand into the imprint. "Come, sweet child, it's time to wake up."

'_Who are you calling child?'_ Buffy's laughing voice sounded in her head as the fingers she was pressing against suddenly curled around her own. _'You're only ten years older than I am.'_

The crystal encasing began to crack. The cracks spider-webbed through the crystal and shards began to fall away for the body moving restless inside it, disintegrating into fine green dust as it felt and vanishing into nothingness. There was a flare of green light as Buffy's body collapsed into Kathryn's arms. The light flashed upwards in a wave, flowing over the other casings, causing them to begin breaking open as well. The next level up, Kathryn saw Willow and Faith fall out of their shells. Then her attention was redirected back to the woman in her arms.

"_N'mina."_ Buffy murmured, nuzzling Kathryn's neck before drawing her tongue sensually up from the base of Kathryn's throat up to cover her lips in another sizzling kiss that almost buckled the captain's knees. _First __Mate_, the word translated in Kathryn's head before all though vanished under the onslaught of that delicious mouth.

Seven of Nine, who had been watching the progress of the awakenings above her, looked back at her captain when the other woman suddenly moaned. She felt a strange tightening in her lower abdomen area as this time, instead of stopping the kiss as before, the captain drew the female in her arms closer. She had heard the word that the young woman had uttered, but the universal translator did not recognize the language and there was nothing in her cortical node to translate it.

"Commander, we must separate the captain for they have all awakened." Seven said to Tuvok. "It is most probable that the transporters will be restored once there are all free of their chambers, and Captain Janeway ordered an immediate beam out."

"You are correct." Tuvok agreed, moving over to the kissing women. "Captain? Captain Janeway, we are preparing to return to Voyager."

The mention of her ship was enough to penetrate the fog Kathryn had fallen into. Gasping, she managed to break the kiss, looking around in confusion until her gaze fell on her Security Chief. "Tuvok?"

"They are almost free." He told her, pointing upwards. "We suspect that once the last one is freed, the transporter will be able to lock onto our signatures once again, and you ordered everyone beamed directly to Sickbay once the connection was re-established. I assumed that you did not wish to be caught in a compromising position."

Kathryn blinked a few times to clear the haze, and licked her lips. Vaguely, she realized that there was a strange taste on her tongue, but before she could pursue the thought, her communicator chirped. She tapped her own to open the channel. "Janeway here."

_Captain, thank the Great Spirit._ Chakotay said. _We were getting really worried up here. Our screens went black after that fight, and you just vanished from your location and reappeared somewhere else. We've re-established transporter lock and are prepared to beam all twenty-eight life signs directly to Sickbay as ordered. I'm sending Paris to help out the Doctor and Ro with a security team._

With effort, Kathryn pulled herself together and steadied Buffy on her own two feet. "Energize."

- - - BtVS - - ST:Voyager - - -

When they materialized in the Sickbay, the Doctor found himself surrounded by the oddest thing. Young men and women of various ages and seemingly human nationalities. It was obvious that the majority of them were disoriented. Several had fallen into fighting stances as their confused senses made them defensive. A moment later, Tom Paris entered the room, with Ro Laren and a security detail right behind him, and suddenly the situation became… interesting.

Even disoriented, the girls surged forward to surround the Captain and the three women closest to her, effectively blocking them from the security team, and began _growling_. The security team, Lt. Paris, and even Lt. Cmdr. Ro took several steps back, almost as if in fear. Even Tuvok was affected to a lesser degree. The Doctor was about to comment when he felt the vibration of sub-vocal harmonics in the room. Seven of Nine's expression revealed that she felt it as well. Only the Captain actually heard the growls that were coming from Faith and Buffy.

"Stop them." She ordered Buffy. "The security team is standard procedure. They're not going anywhere no matter how intimidating you all are."

Buffy shrugged and told them all to calm down in their new language. To the Starfleet officers, the words came through the translators as a bunch of gibberish, but Kathryn quickly realized that she was understanding every word.

"You can understand our language?" Kathryn asked Buffy, who nodded. "Why can't you speak it? And why do I understand your language when it's not in the translation protocols?"

"We understand it, but it's no longer our first language." Buffy said in perfect English. "You can understand our language because you were one of us, in spirit if not in body."

"Will you let the doctor check you over?" Kathryn asked. "Without giving him any grief."

"With those scanner things?" Buffy asked. "No needles, no straps?"

Suddenly, Kathryn remembered Buffy's stories about her cousin Celia and her own experience at the psychiatric hospital, and her antagonistic views toward hospitals became blindingly clear. Hospitals, even medical ones, strapped you down for tests. Bound you to a bed for an undetermined length of time and poked and prodded you with needles, and gave you sedatives when you became agitated. If there was one thing that she had learned about Slayers, it was that they _did not_ appreciate being constrained against their will.

"No, Liz." Kathryn assured her softly. "No straps and no needles. I promise."

Buffy smiled and hopped onto the nearest bio-bed. Taking that as his cue, the Doctor began examining her with a medical tricorder. Kathryn was amused, but not very surprised, to see Willow staring over his shoulder. When the Doctor twitched in irritation as second time, Seven forestalled his caustic remarks by handing the young genius another tricorder and explaining its various functions. Kathryn foresaw them spending a lot of time together. She suspected that Seven and Willow would be at about a similar intellectual level.

"Well, Doctor?" Kathryn returned her attention to the examination.

_Bridge to the Captain._

Kathryn tapped her communicator. "Go ahead, Chakotay."

_Captain, you'd better come see this._

Kathryn exchanged a look with Tuvok. "We're on our way."


	7. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

"Report." Kathryn ordered as she stepped off the turbolift. Tuvok stepped off right behind her and made his way over to his console.

"It looks like the town is collapsing in on itself." Chakotay told her.

The landmass that looked like Sunnydale was indeed collapsing. It fell in on itself, faster and faster, until it broke apart completely, disintegrating into the pale green nebula surrounding them. In its place, a ball of energy began to form, pulsing almost hypnotically. Unable to look away, the bridge crew watched as the ball grew larger and the pulses grew steadily stronger, until they were suddenly blinded by a bright flash of pale green light. By the time their vision cleared, they were looking at clear space and Dawn was on the bridge next to the Captain.

"Status, Harry." Janeway requested. "Where are we?"

Shaking his head to get rid of the halo effect that the flash caused and brought up the information. "Captain, we're another 15,000 light years closer to the Alpha Quadrant."

Kathryn's brow raised as she turned to Dawn, only to be met with a completely innocent smile. "Shall we go speak with Buffy and the others, Admiral?" Dawn asked in the odd new language.

"Yes, I think we should." Kathryn answered, wondering vaguely if she was speaking in Standard or that new language. "Chakotay, you have the bridge."

Dawn followed her to the turbolift. Neither spoke until they reached Sickbay, where the Voyager crew gathered watched as the young brunette ran across the room and leapt into her sister's arms. The others quickly gathered around the siblings as they all launched into a rapid conversation so fast that even Kathryn couldn't keep up. She watched them for a moment, then turned to Lt. Ro.

"Laren, return to the bridge. Inform the senior staff that there will be a briefing in twenty minutes."

"Aye, Captain."

"Also, send your men back to their regular posts." Kathryn raised her hand when Laren opened her mouth. "You can leave two of them outside of Sickbay if it will make you feel better, but aggressive posturing and guns make them very nervous. That's not a good thing on any kind of day."

Ro Laren studied the Captain's expression, and finally nodded. With an almost unnoticeable signal, she dispersed her men. Almost immediately, the palpable tension in the room eased. The girls stopped glancing over their shoulders and concentrated on the Summers sisters. Turning back to them, Kathryn noticed that a few faces were missing.

"Dawn, where are Kennedy, Lenora and Michelle."

It was Willow who answered. "Kennedy refused to come when she found out that this had been set up mainly for Buffy. Lenora was killed a few years ago, and Michelle refused to leave her family. This is only about a third of the Slayers that were active at the time. The others chose to stay behind. Danáe, Kylie, Sadie and the other three guys are the witches that chose to come with us. Mike was a Marine with magic ability. He came along to be with his little sister."

"Buffy, I need you to keep them all calm while I talk to my people." Kathryn said, moving through the girls to stand next to Buffy so that she could be seen and heard over the others. She began absently running her fingers through Buffy's hair. "I know you're going to start getting antsy soon, when we return, I'll take you all to the holodeck to stretch your legs."

Buffy nodded. "Do they know, Admiral?"

"Only Tuvok and Seven." Kathryn murmured. Without conscious volition, she used her nails on Buffy's scalp, causing a subvocal purr that vibrated through her.

The Doctor, watching the uncharacteristic actions in silence, pointed his tricorder at her back and ran a quick scan.

"Is there a problem, Doctor?" Kathryn asked without turning.

"Not at all." He answered blithely. "I just thought I'd take advantage of your immobility and check you over. That was quite a beating you took and, although I was told that you had been healed by the entity, I'm still your doctor, and I'd like to make sure of it."

"And what did you find?"

"You're fine." He said absently as he rechecked his readings. "Actually, you're better than fine. All indications of previous injuries are completely gone. I'd like to run a deeper scan if we have the time."

"Is it important?"

"That's what I'd like to determine." He waved to her a nearby bed. "This won't take long. I can do the scan, and review the results, then transfer my holo-matrix into the briefing room."

"Fine, Doctor." Kathryn sighed impatiently. "Let's just get it over with."

She laid on the bio-bed and watched as the outer shell closed over her. The scan only took a few minutes, but it was enough to start the girls grumbling. They understood the doctor was examining Kathryn but not exactly how, and to them it looked like their friend was being held down. Like Buffy, many of them had been hospitalized after they'd started exhibiting strange and erratic behavior, before the Scoobies managed to get the new Watcher's Council off the ground and collect them. Only Buffy's calmness as she watched over her former lover kept them from tearing the medical bed apart. Regardless, they all breathed a collective sigh of relief when the sides retracted and Kathryn got back to her feet. She took one look at the agitation on their faces and decided that leaving them here would probably not be a good idea. "Computer, site to site transport to Holodeck Two for 26. Access archives and initiate St. Croix, Virgin Islands, 20th century tourist season. Doctor, please inform the security detail outside where I've taken them. Dawn, please go with the Doctor to the briefing room. You're going to have to explain to us what we need to know about the girls."

Before the doctor could respond, the Sickbay was emptied in multiple flashes of blue light. In the holodeck, she explained the parameters. She explained that although everything look and felt real, it wasn't. Eating the food would make them feel full, but wouldn't actually nourish them. How it was possible to get hurt, but safety protocols protected them from permanent damage, so they were free to take advantage of everything the islands had to offer. After that, she left them with the reassurance that she'd return for them after the meeting or send Seven or Tuvok. Nodding to the security detail outside the holodeck doors, she made her way back to the briefing room.

- - - BtVS - - ST:Voyager - - -

Kathryn knew that she was going to have to come up with a good explanation that moment she walked into the room. There were questions in the eyes of all of her officers. She exchanged a look with Dawn, who had been seated next to her, opposite of Chakotay, and Dawn inclined her head slightly, letting her know that whatever the Captain said, Dawn would corroborate.

"Let's get the important stuff out of the way." Kathryn said, taking her place at the table. "Doctor, your report?"

"Their genetic make up is 60 human, but the other 40 is unknown." The Doctor began. "There is nothing in our medical database that is remotely similar to the genetic encoding. I can only speculate that these unknown factors are what makes their hair shimmer and seem to change colors under the light. Their cells regenerate so fast that they heal almost instantly and, because of this, there is no way to tell just how long their lifespans can potential become. I have also discovered their corneas not only refract light, but also reflects it. In essence, they can see in the dark as long as there is a sliver of light somewhere, much like a feline. The three that seem to be in charge have also demonstrated an ability to produce subvocal sounds that can effect those around them. For example, when they became agitated earlier at the sight of Security, they began to growl and, although no one heard it, everyone reacted. The only reason that I detected it, is because the sonics vibrated through my matrix."

"I also detected the vibrations." Seven added. "Everyone in the immediate vicinity retreated several steps. Even Tuvok and myself were affected, although to a lesser degree. The only person that did not seem to react was the captain."

Everyone turned to Kathryn, who refrained from rolling her eyes. Barely. _Thanks, Seven._ She thought to herself. Taking that as her cue, she told them what she had told what she had told Seven and Tuvok, but made it sound as if it had happened while she was unconscious on the bridge earlier instead of the truth, that it had happened to her future self. They were all amazed that almost a year's worth of events had happened in the 10 minutes that the captain had been unconscious.

"This is Dawn. She is a physical representation of the energy being. She is here to tell us what we need to know about our new guests."

"The reason that you will find nothing in your databases that would closely resemble the part of them that makes them S'Terran is because there _is_ nothing." Dawn began. "Although it is based on a species that has been extinct from this dimension for centuries, they are something completely new. Their original natures were not compatible with this dimension, and so that nature had to be altered so that it would not be rejected. Another reason is because, when The First manages to gain another foothold in that other dimension, there are those that will attempt to retrieve them to continue the fight, and they have earned their 'retirement'."

"S'Terran?" The Doctor asked. "Are they from Earth?"

"Yes, they are from Earth." Dawn looked at him. "Does it matter? The world that they knew is gone. The lives that they knew are gone. They all wanted this second chance for a better life where they didn't have to fight constantly."

"Well, they picked the wrong place." Tom Paris remarked. "We're always fighting out here."

"I gave you all glimpses I into my sister's life." The young brunette turned to face the helmsman. "Imagine that every night, and sometimes during the day, for more than ten years. Imagine that you had to sacrifice your loved ones, lose your family, even die, and still be required to fight. Does it sound like your concept of 'always fighting' is the same as hers is?" Tom squirmed under her relentless glare, and Kathryn saw that many of the others also looked uncomfortable. "Those men and women, especially Buffy, Willow and Faith, have sacrificed everything to keep their world safe, and in the end, those that they protected turned on them. They deserve whatever peace I can find for them, but they have fought too long to simply give it up. It is not in the natures. If you let them, they can help you on your journey home, or you can drop them off on a suitable planet and let them make a fresh start."

Dawn stopped to take a deep breath to calm herself. "In their dimension, the laws of reality were different. Monsters exists, for instance. Vampires, demons, werewolves, you name it, they had it. In the beginning, their Earth was a demon paradise, not a human one. Eventually, humankind rose up and cast the demons out, but not before one of them managed to mix its own blood with a human, creating the first vampire. That vampire created another, and another, and so on, until the world was full of them, along with the minor and half-breed demons that had been wise enough to hide when the uprising too place. To counter that, The Powers That Be, gave a group of sorcerers the idea to take the essence of a demon and force it into the soul of a young feral girl that they had captured, creating the first slayer. Since then, whenever the slayer dies, the demon essence moves on to another girl with the potential. The first time Buffy died was when she was 16. It activated another Slayer, but she was brought back by CPR and we found out that once a Slayer, always a Slayer. So now there were two. The second Slayer died, and Faith was called."

"What about those others?" B'Elanna asked.

"They were activated by Willow using magic to fight The First. Willow, the three men, and the two older women were witches. Willow was the most powerful witch in the world.


	8. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

"Dawn." Kathryn interrupted her rant as tears sprang into her eyes. The girl turned to her. "Even if they didn't know, I do. I promised that I would look after them, and I meant it."

"I know you will, Kathryn, but will you still love her?" Dawn suddenly demanded in S'Terran. "You know what '_N'mina_' means. You know that she loves you. You know that she would have wanted to claim you had you survived. You belong together. She's already confirmed it, and neither of you even realized it."

"What?" Kathryn went completely still. "What are you talking about?"

"The kiss. When she kissed you, it had a flavor, right?" Dawn asked. "Something elusive, but so delicious that you immediately wanted more?"

Kathryn nodded dazedly, forgetting about their confused audience.

"It's a special enzyme in their saliva that only a potential mate can taste." Dawn informed her with a small smirk. "It provides the potential mate with an incomplete genetic code that, when complete, makes them equal to their S'Terran mate."

"Captain, would you care to let the rest of us in on your conversation?" Chakotay requested with a vaguely acrimonious tone that immediately caught her attention. She turned to him with a raised brow and his tattoo twitched as he responded to the faint glare in her eye, but he continued. "The rest of us can't understand a word the young lady is speaking, although somehow you can."

"I can speak their language because they know me, they trust me and they need someone to communicate with." Kathryn said shortly. "As for what we were talking about, there is a reason she decided to speak to me in the other language, so you can all consider it classified. Although I will need to speak with you regarding it, Doctor."

"Of course, Captain." He said after a moment. They all looked a little startled.

"Dawn, we'll talk about this later." Kathryn told the girl. "In private."

Dawn studied the Captain for a long, tense moment, then finally nodded. "Do you need anything else from me? I want to spend some time with Buffy and the others before I have to go."

"If I have no basis to work with, how will I able to treat them?" The Doctor immediately asked.

"You don't. Their bodies reject all foreign pathogens. Their immune systems work about five times faster than the average human. Seven of Nine will become ill before they will. They heal at about the same rate. Broken bones and such would be half healed by the time they reach Sickbay."

"Are they a security risk?" Chakotay asked.

"Of course they are." Dawn grinned. "They're as much a security risk as you Marquis."

It was a carefully aimed phaser shot that struck with the force of a photon torpedo. There was complete silence in the room as everyone waited to see who the First Officer would respond, but before he even opened his mouth, Dawn continued.

"Piss them off, and they are quite capable of killing everyone of this ship. Lucky for you, not only is that against their nature, but they also like and respect your captain enough that even Buffy is willing to follow where she leads. Within reason, of course. However, Mr. Chakotay, if you try to push her like you're trying to push me, you could find yourself in a world of hurt."

- - - BtVS - - ST:Voyager - - -

An hour later, Dawn was sitting next to her sister in a hidden coven, soaking up holographic rays and drinking holographic Mai-Tais along with Willow and Faith.

"What happened after we left?" Buffy asked. "Did humans really hunt down the remaining Slayers?"

Dawn's expression turned sad. "They did. The government contracted Wolfram & Hart to track the new Slayers as they were activated."

"The Powers just let that happen?" Buffy felt heartbroken, almost betrayed. After everything that Slayers sacrificed for them, The Powers didn't even see fit to protect their own Champions.

"The Powers aren't allowed to interfere with humanity's free will. They made the decision to slaughter their own protectors after they felt that they no longer needed them. It was a decision made out of fear, yes, but a decision made without demonic influence. That is one of THEIR unbreakable rules. Thankfully, my warning gave Giles enough time to make plans. He managed to create shelters for some of the slayers and their families, hidden by the strongest magics that he had Willow create before you all left. They still slay, but they are forced to use very strong glamours and shielding spells. Right now, with the majority of the demons destroyed and none of the active Hellmouths strong enough to need a Slayer, the Line is going dormant. It will be reactivated when the demon population begins to grow strong again."

"What about Giles, Xander, Anya and you, Dawnie?" Willow asked. "What about Kennedy and the others that stayed behind?"

"After you all left, Giles used the Council Funds to purchase an island. We moved the Council Headquarters there after shielding it with the strongest wards and magic guards we could get our hands on. I finally went to college in Rome, and created a business translating obscure manuscripts. Xander and Anya got married and had twin girls that he named after his two best friends. Giles finally fell in love with one of the Coven members, and they got married. We had good lives." Dawn took a deep breath before continuing. "Kennedy, well, Kennedy tried to rule the Slayers instead of lead them. She treated them like they were her personal army. It worked for her at first, but the others quickly got tired of it. By the time the humans turned on them, Kennedy tried to convince them that Slayers were the saviors of Humanity and that it was Buffy that had been the problem, and that now that she was gone, there was nothing to worry about."

"What?!?" Willow was flabbergasted.

Dawn nodded. "She was on national television and everything. She told them how, when you guys were in high school, she used Willow's and Xander's need to belong to brainwash you into being her personal monster bait. Xander was going to go after her if I hadn't stopped him. She told them that Buffy had you all so snowed under that you were willing to follow her to another universe to be with her lover, but that she, Kennedy, had refused to leave Earth unprotected even at the expense of being with her own lover, meaning Willow."

"But we were never lovers." Willow exclaimed, confused.

"You know she wanted it, babe." Faith said. "If we hadn't hooked up, I'm sure you would have been."

"Anyway, it probably would have worked if she hadn't said that they should be thanking her for keeping them safe. Of course, that's when I had to step in."

Buffy looked at her sister. "Dawn, what did you do?"

"I questioned her right there in front of all those cameras." Dawn shrugged, unapologetic. "I asked her if she had to kill her first love to keep the world from being sucked into hell. I asked her if she died three times in the line of duty. I asked her if she had been dragged out of Heaven, and had to dig her way out of her own grave."

They all started at the brunette with wide eyes and open mouths. "What happened?" Faith asked, finally speaking.

Dawn smirked. "We nearly caused a riot, especially after the resurrection question. No one was really sure what to believe. So, they picked it up from there, firing question after question at Kennedy about what I had said. I took the opportunity to kinda melt back into the crowd and disappear. I had worn a disguise, so it was kinda easy to escape. After that, I laid low and concentrated on the Council. Kennedy never spoke to me again."

Faith burst out laughing. Buffy shook her head in reproach, but couldn't keep her amusement completely hidden, and hugged her sister in gratitude. Willow sat back in astonishment of what Kennedy had done.

"In the end, it just made things worse. When the Initiative files were leaked, and no, not by me, it backed up my claims about Buffy, but really freaked everyone out. They let the Slayers continue to take out the majority of the remaining demons but, when the reported sightings began to dissipate, the governments decided that they could police the demons themselves. Propaganda turned Humanity against the Slayers, using Kennedy's demand of thanks as a basis for stating that Slayers had a God complex and were demanding worship in return for continued protection that was no longer necessary, and the witchhunt began. Kennedy was one of the first to fall."

They all fell silent as they thought about the friends that they had lost in their old universe. Willow tried to understand what had made Kennedy act out like that. She never understood Kennedy's hatred of Buffy, but she knew that a lot of it was because Kennedy didn't know what it _really_ meant to be a Slayer. Other than Faith, none of them did. They didn't know what it was like for all the responsibility to fall solely on one person's shoulders, because they had always had other to lend a hand. Willow knew, Xander and Giles knew, even Faith and Dawn knew to a lesser extent that, no matter how much they helped, in the end, it was almost always Buffy left to fight.

"What are you going to do about Kathryn?" Dawn asked suddenly. "Are you going to let her retreat behind her command like she told us that she used to do?"

"Of course not." Buffy snorted. "She knows better than that. If she doesn't want to be with me anymore, she's going to have to come up with a damn good reason besides just being the Captain."

Even as she said it, the thought of such a rejection made her chest ache. Falling in love with Kathryn had been the push that she had really needed to continue living instead of merely existing. When Kathryn had died from the blow meant for her, it nearly destroyed her. It had only been the knowledge that Kathryn's sacrifice would have been for nothing if The First won, that had allowed her to continue fighting. Buffy herself had almost not escaped the collapsing town because she had refused to leave Kathryn's body behind. Buffy and the Scoobies had left the newly activated Slayers in a safe place to recuperate while they took a trip to Indiana to bury Kathryn in her hometown. She wondered if the body was still there, since the bat'leth that they had buried with her obviously wasn't.

"Buffy, do you remember if you tasted anything in that kiss when Kathryn woke you up?" Dawn redirected her thoughts and an unconsciously sultry smile formed on the lips that caught both Willow and Faith by complete surprise.

"Yo, B, where'd you just go?" Faith asked. "Cause I definitely want to go there, too."

Buffy blushed to the roots of her hair as she dragged her mind from the fantasy it had wandered into. Until Kathryn, she had never allowed herself to relax enough to reveal the more sexual side of her personality. 'Dawn' may not of known all about her sister, but 'The Key' did. It had studied every Champion in that Dimension before decided which one would be its protector. Like all Slayers, Buffy had a hyperactive sex drive that constantly ran hot from all the fighting that she did night after night, but unlike most, Buffy's sense of duty and her natural inhibitions kept her libido firmly in check. Not to mention the fiasco that was Angel. That whole thing had left serious psychological scars on her psyche that had taken a very long time to heal. After that, she had repressed her needs until the clusterfuck called Parker Abrams. That had almost made her retreat back into her shell, but then she had met Riley, and at the time, Riley had been exactly what she had needed. When she had her affair with Spike, his vampire strength had given her the outlet that she needed to vent her rage at her friends as well as the sexual frustration she had pent up from her unfulfilled need for more aggression in her encounters. Kathryn had been everything she needed in a partner, even without super strength, and the Key had been glad for them. Kathryn had shown Buffy that her need for aggressive sex did not have to equal painful sex. Well, not unless they wanted it to.

"What kind of taste?" Buffy finally managed.

"I don't know. I didn't kiss her." Dawn smirked. "It would have been something faint, but you immediately wanted more."

Buffy thought back, forcibly keeping her focus to what Dawn was referring to. "I think I did taste something. I had just gotten a hint of it when we were interrupted. Why?"

"That is how you would recognize your mate." Dawn explained. "It's a special enzyme in the saliva of a S'Terran that only a compatible mate would taste. I told Kathryn about it earlier. It transferred an incomplete genetic code into her dna. Once you mate, the genetic code complete, and she'll be your equal. She won't turn ino a S'Terran herself, but she'll have most of your advantages, like strength, senses, healing and the like."

"Mate?" Faith said a little warily. "How's that work?"

"Through bites and blood, kind of like the Klingons of this Universe." Dawn answered thoughtfully. "It was one of the concessions, along with your very own version of the 'mating fire'. You've also got your adaptability from the Bajoran Prophets and your tele-emphatic bonding between mates from the Vulcan Holy Ones."

"So, Kathryn is my mate." Buffy marveled, a grin forming.

"Potential mate." Dawn corrected. "The enzyme merely identifies possible mates. In some cases, more than one. You and your mate have to take that final step on your own, though."

"What makes them compatible?" Willow asked curiously.

"Multiple mates?" Faith asked, smiling lavisciously at the thought. "Now, that sounds like fun."

"I don't know, Willow." Dawn answered the redhead and ignored Faith. "I do know that you'll be drawn to your mates. Something about them will call to something within you. It will happen in its own time, though. People who have known each other for years, will one day look up and be drawn to one another."

Willow looked thoughtful. There was something that Dawn was hinting at, but she couldn't quite grasp it. Faith was still in fantasyland, as was Buffy. Dawn merely smiled and lay back to enjoy the sunshine and sip her drink.


	9. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Kathryn looked around the table at her senior staff. The meeting had continued after Dawn went to join her sister in the holodeck. Dawn's revelation about that mating thing had thrown her for a loop, and it was taking her a moment to adjust. She was silent as her officers talked among each other.

"What are we going to do with these people?" Tom asked. "Are they staying or should we be setting course for the closest M-Class planet?"

"We don't really have the room to keep them on board, do we?." Harry commented. "Where would they stay? They can't live in the holodeck. Not to mention, that will tap out our supplies."

"What would they do if they stayed?" B'Elanna tossed in her two cents. "This isn't a pleasure cruise. They don't get a free ride."

"Those are all good questions." Chakotay said. "I'm sure the Captain already has a course of action laid out. I especially don't like the fact that, other than the captain, none of us can understand what they are saying."

Seven and Tuvok remained silent. They suspected that they already knew what the captain's decision would be, but they could also tell that something else was weighing on her mind. Suddenly, her gaze refocused on the room.

"Living and fighting with those people in Sunnydale showed me a few things." Kathryn began. "Lessons that I think would be beneficial to our situation here in the Delta Quadrant. I've spoken to Tuvok and Seven about several changes that I want to implement. We've got decades before we reach the Alpha Quadrant, unless we stumble across a miracle. We've followed Starfleet protocols and done everything necessary to survive, but that's all we're doing. Those girls out there lived every day like it was their last, because any night could _be_ their last. They've shown me that survival simply isn't enough. We are going to continue on our way home. We are going to continue looking for possible shortcuts or even a wormhole straight to the Alpha Quadrant but, until we find it, we're going to live like this is our life. So far we have made limited first contact, usually when we're being attacked or when we need supplies. We have made a few friends, but we seem to have collected some big enemies."

"What are you saying, Captain?" Tom asked, confused.

"We trade for supplies using replicated currency, right?" Several of them nodded. "What if we traded simple goods and artifacts to take with us. Establish relationship and allies out here, both for us and for the Federation. Set the groundwork for when Starfleet sends a ship out here by choice, instead of by accident. I've seen some of the holodeck programs. I know that there are artistic types aboard. What would be the harm in creating simple gift items to trade in local markets for artifacts to take back with us? Show Starfleet that there was some good out here along with the bad."

They looked thoughtful.

"Also, we need to start thinking more offensively rather than defensively. We've been winning our battles with as much luck as skill, and we barely have time to patch up before something else takes potshots at us. We need to find a good amount of supplies and a safe planet to drop anchor and really fix this ship. There will come a time when our luck will run out and all we'll have left is Voyager to get us out of the line of fire. She can't do that if she was already half busted going into the battle. B'Elanna, I want you and Seven to put aside your differences and work together on this. We need to upgrade everything from our shields to our weapons. Once they learn the systems, I want you to talk to Willow." Kathryn held up her hand to forestall any protests. "She's easily as smart as Seven. If she had been born on this Earth, she would have been recruited for the Daystrom Institute before she finished secondary school. She excels in science, mathematics and quantum mechanics. She'll probably pick things up first, because she could follow my explanations without actually having to use the systems."

Both B'Elanna and Seven were impressed. She looked so young.

She paused for a moment, sitting back in her chair. "I also want the crew to brush up on their hand-to-hand. We've been boarded too many times, and we obviously can't always get to a weapon. If nothing else, everyone needs to learn basic self-defense to give them the opportunity to make an escape. I want Tuvok and Laren to work with Buffy and Faith on that. Hand-to-hand and bladed weaponry is their specialty. More than likely, they are extremely strong, so you probably don't have to temper your own strength when sparring with them. Are there any questions so far?"

"When do I get their medical files?" The Doctor was, once again, the first to speak up.

"You'll have to create them, Doctor." Kathryn told him. "They are all healthy and recovered from their time in stasis, so give them a complete physical and we'll go from there."

"When do you want to start the upgrades?" B'Elanna asked.

"I want some ideas on my desk as soon as possible barring continued repairs and red alerts." The captain answered. "We need to find supplies and a place to land the ship. Make it a working shore leave. Some time to relax would do the whole crew some good."

Heads nodded all around the table.

"Are you sure we can trust them?" Chakotay finally asked the most pressing question. "We know nothing about them, regardless of the time you spent in their world. We don't understand what they are saying. We don't even know what they are. For all we know they could planning to overthrow the ship and leave us deserted on the first planet we come across."

"I know that you don't know these people, but I do." Kathryn said quietly. "The illusions that appeared all over the ship when we approaching the beacon were true accounts of Buffy's life. Now, I will tell you what the S'Terrans are and what they meant to their world."

- - - BtVS - - ST:Voyager - - -

After the meeting, Kathryn stood next to the window, staring out into the empty starfield as she waited for Dawn. She needed to find out more about this mate thing that was possibly forming between Buffy and herself. As she waited, her mind wandered back to the late night conversations she'd had with Buffy about her rule of staying apart from her crew, smiling again at Buffy's opinions of it, and the promises that she had made to herself. She hadn't expected to have to address the issue so soon. She couldn't deny that she still felt that same tug in her belly at the mere thought of the Slayer, but now she had to consider the ramifications of getting involved with her and how it would look to the rest of her crew. She could still remember the first time she had given in to her need for the blonde.

_They had been out on the back porch again, staring up at the stars, as Kathryn told Buffy of yet another adventure in the Delta Quadrant._

"_You really miss being out there, don't you?" Buffy finally asked._

"_Space was always my first love." Kathryn nodded, leaning against the porch fence. "When we finally made it back to the Federation, I thought that after more than a decade, it was over all of that, but after accepting the promotion, I've found that my place really is on the bridge of a starship. Transitioning back into a chain of command was more difficult that I had anticipated. Life seems to move so slowly now."_

_Buffy nodded. "I understand that. We have an apocalypse, and everything leading up to it, and it has up fighting for our lives night after night. When it's over, there's this lull, where all the big bads are gone, and all the little minions are in hiding waiting until the next time, and we find ourselves relieved that it's over, but bored out of our skulls at the same time. At least I do. Willow and Xander have other things in their lives to focus on during the downtime. I just have the Doublemeat__Palace and overdue bills."_

_Kathryn chuckled along with the younger woman. Her body tensed as Buffy leaned next to her. "Kathryn, how long are you going to deny what's happening between us?"_

"_Buffy." Kathryn said, her voice low in warning._

"_No, not this time." Buffy interrupted her. "I know you feel it, just like I do. I can smell your arousal every time we get close to each other. I know you've tried to force yourself to keep away, but we seem to be calling to each other."_

"_Buffy, we can't do this." Kathryn denied. "I'm old enough to be your grandmother."_

"_My first and last lovers were old enough to be my ancestors." Buffy smirked. "You're going to have to do better than that."_

"_A commanding officer does not get involved with her officers." Kathryn tried again._

_Buffy dismissed that excuse with a wave of her hand. "You already know what I think about that. Besides, you're not in command here. If anyone is, it's me." She glanced over at the Admiral with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "If it would make you feel better, I can arrange to have you thrown out."_

_Kathryn rolled her eyes in exasperation. Every reason Kathryn gave, Buffy shot down with devastating accuracy and twisted Buffy-logic. Finally, Kathryn fell back on the one thing that should have put an end to it. "Buffy, I'm in love with someone else. You know that."_

_Buffy turned to face the older woman. Kathryn keep her eyes firmly on the empty streets, refusing to look at her. With gentle fingers, Buffy smoothed a lock of silver streaking red hair behind a sensitive ear. Kathryn shivered. "So am I, but if it's one thing that I've learned in my life, it's that the human heart makes room when it's necessary. It is possible to love more than one person. It's possible to be in love with more than one person as well._

_Taking her jaw in a firm grip, Buffy finally forced Kathryn to look at her. "You've been fighting this thing between us since you arrived, but I won't let you hide from it any longer. If you don't want to be with me, simply say so. Otherwise, I'm going to take you upstairs and make love to you."_

Then Buffy had kissed her, giving her ample time to draw away if she'd wanted. Kathryn closed her eyes at the memory. That first kiss had been as sweet and slow as honey, flowing through her whole body. Buffy had kept her word. Taking her acquiesce for the acceptance that it was, she had taken led Kathryn back to her bedroom that they had been sharing and made love to her until the sun rose.

"Good memories, I hope." Dawn interrupted her thoughts.

Kathryn jumped visibly jumped, her heart pounding, as she blushed to the roots of her hair. "Dawn, don't sneak on me like that!"

Dawn's brow rose in amusement. "Who was sneaking? I even rang the chime. I simply got tired of waiting."

Kathryn's blush darkened, and she took a moment to regain her composure, gesturing for Dawn to take a seat at the table. "Tell me about what I need to know."

"Are you sure, Kathryn?"

"Very sure." Kathryn nodded firmly. "Tell me everything."

- - - BtVS - - ST:Voyager - - -

'_It's time for me to leave, Buffy.'_ Dawn's voice said in her head as she floated on the water. _'Kathryn arranged for the guards outside the room to escort you, Faith and Willow to the bridge to see me off.'_

Swimming quickly to the shore, Buffy called for Willow and Faith and passed on the message. They had just finished dressing when the holodeck door opened to reveal the exit and the awaiting escort. Cautioning the others to stay put and out of trouble, they were taken to the bridge, ignoring the curious gazes of the crewmen that they passed. Stepping onto the bridge, they looked around in interest.

"Wicked." Faith said, amazed.

Dawn smiled at the others as they looked around. "Come give me a hug, Buffy. I won't be able to visit you again after I leave."

"What?" Buffy turned to her sister in shock. "Why not?"

Before anyone could react, all three girls were across the deck, surrounding the brunette. "What do you mean, Dawnie?" Willow asked, almost in tears.

Dawn shrugged sadly, explaining as she hugged them one at a time. "Like The First, I can't exist in any dimension for long periods of time. In your dimension, the monks created a shell for me to hide in, but the Dawn you knew was only a small part of the whole. When she died, her essence returned to me, along with her memories and feelings and love for all of you. Now it is time for me to return myself. I do have a few gifts of thanks for the captain and her crew."

"What?" Kathryn asked, jumping to her feet. "What kind of gifts?"

Dawn turned to smirk playfully the captain, and the bridge crew caught their breath at the pale green glow in her eyes. "Just a few little things to help you on your journey." The green glow grew brighter and brighter until they were all forced to covert their eyes against it. The stars outside were silent witnesses to the glow that covered the majestic little scout ship. Unnoticed by the crew inside her, the ship rippled inside its bubble of light. It shifted, stretched and grew, new decks forming in beneath those that already existed.

"Damn it, Dawn." Kathryn growled. Her vision finally cleared, in time to see her crew glowing. "What did you do, little girl?"

_'Just a little thank you, Admiral.'_ She heard Dawn's voice in her head. _'I would take you home if I could, but I am bound by rules as well. Safe journey.'_

Kathryn rolled her eyes in fond exasperation as she silently bid the girl goodbye. She looked around her bridge to see that her officers were recovering quickly from whatever it was that she had done. Buffy, Willow and Faith had not moved from their spot, apparently having recovered faster than the rest of them did. Kathryn wondered idly if Chakotay realized that this had been the perfect time to take over the ship if that was what they'd had in mind.

"I want a full systems scan, inside and out." Kathryn ordered. "Check all systems. Janeway to Sickbay."

_Sickbay here._ The Doctor answered, much to Kathryn's relief. "Captain, something has altered my matrix."

Kathryn's jaw clenched. "Can you tell what was altered?"

_It seems that my memory capacity has been almost tripled and my power requirements have been cut almost in half._

Her brow rose in amazed curiosity. "All right, Doctor, I'll have Seven and B'Elanna take a look at it. Bridge to Astrometics."

_Yes, Captain?_ Seven answered.

"Seven, can you recalibrate the internal sensors to scan the crew? I saw both Tom and Chakotay glowing when my vision cleared, and I seriously doubt that it was just then."


	10. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Kathryn sat back in her command chair as her people ran the tests. Harry was the first to respond with any news.

"Captain, all systems are at 100." He said incredulously. "The ship has been completely repaired. Relays, conduits, manifolds, hull damage, all of it."

_Engine Room to the Bridge._

Kathryn sighed. "Go, ahead, B'Elanna."

_Captain, I'm getting some strange readings from all of the EPS relays, bio-neural gel packs, conduits and manifolds. I'm sending Carey and a couple of others into the jeffries tubes and to look at the gel packs to see if they can find anything._

"Do it." Kathryn said, feeling a headache forming.

More reports started filtering in, and Kathryn's headache blossomed into a full blown migraine. _I'm gonna kill that brat, _she thought to herself. "Chakotay, I want this ship examined from aft to stern, and I want that report as soon as it's finished. You three," She pointed to Buffy, Willow, and Faith. "in my Ready Room, now."

She stalked through the door off the side of the bridge, and everyone watched in bemusement as the three girls followed meekly behind her. In her Ready Room, Kathryn moved immediately over to the replicator and ordered a coffee, black. Taking it over to her desk, she pinned Buffy with an annoyed glare. "What the hell has your sister done to my ship?"

"She said that she had gifts for you." Buffy shrugged. "I don't know what she has done. She's more than my sister here, remember?"

Kathryn took a deep breath. Then another. Forcing herself to calm down and think about this clearly. She knew that Dawn wouldn't do anything to harm her or her ship. She'd wait until she got those reports before she did or said anything that should would later regret. Instead, she focused on another issue. "We need to talk about this mating situation."

Faith and Willow looked at Buffy, who suddenly looked uncomfortable. She had been thinking about it since Dawn had told her. With a glance, she sent the other two across the room to give them some privacy. "I know that the one you loved is out there now, and available. If you don't wish to pursue the mating, then I won't pressure you."

Kathryn studied the blonde, who refused to meet her gaze. She recalled what Dawn had during their conversation. _"You know that she will let you go if you require it. You are now in a position to have the one that you let get away. You know what your life will be like if you let her go again, but what about Buffy? I know that you still love her, and we both know that she will always love you. What are you going to do?"_

_What, indeed?_, Kathryn asked herself. She realized that she had started this needed conversation off completely wrong. Moving around her desk, she stood in front of the younger woman and cupped her cheek. "I haven't made any decisions yet, but I have to take in account my people, not just yours. Dawn told me of the changes that non-S'Terran mates would endure if they accept. Genetic abnormalities, new strengths and abilities, not to mention, the mating needs. This is not something that can be taken lightly."

Being this close to Buffy made Kathryn's body react in familiar ways. Without thinking, she leaned down to kiss the blonde, but was stopped by a gentle finger against her lips. "We can't. Not until you're sure that it's what you want." Her voice lowered so that her friends couldn't hear her. "I want you so bad that I could take you on that desk and let them watch, but the next move has to be yours. We'll stay in that holodeck place if you need us."

With that, the girls left, leaving Kathryn staring at the door after them, speechless. Her heart pounded as images of what Buffy had just said so casually bombarded her thoughts, and her body shivered in helpless arousal. Moaning low in her throat, she forced herself to move into her ensuite to splash her heated face with cold water. Just as she was grabbing a towel, her badge chirped. "Captain, sensors are picking up an M-Class planet a few light years from our present location. I'm reading high levels of dilithium and mercurium ore in the mountain areas and it looks like the planet is uninhabited."

Kathryn considered quickly. "Head in that direction, Chakotay. Run further scans and once we're close, send down an away team. I think we could all use some shore leave and we can take a good look at Voyager at the same time."

"Aye, Captain."

"Tuvok, will you please join me in my Ready Room." She requested.

"On my way." Came the expected answer.

When he joined her a few moments later, she was staring out of the viewpoint into empty space, sipping a cafe con leche. He studied the troubled look on her face and her tense posture and stepped further into the room. "Is there a problem with our guests?"

"In a way," She glanced at him. "but not what you're probably thinking. The conversation with Dawn brought to light some interesting information and possible future problems."

She told them about S'Terran mating. The S'Terran use of kissing and the special enzyme in their saliva can be 'tasted' by a potential mate. She told him what would happen if the mating was accepted. Then, taking a seat on the couch and taking a deep breath, she informed him that she was a possible mate to Buffy.

"I'm afraid that I need some advice, my friend." She finally admitted. "I love Buffy, but I love Seven as well. I have not only the opportunity to make different choices to get us all home, maybe even with more survivors, but I also have a second chance not to let her slip through my fingers. At the very least, Faith, Willow and Buffy can have more than one mate at a time. What does that say? Is their libidos so intense that one person would not be enough to satisfy them? What if their mates don't like having the competition? This whole situation could explode in our faces like the ancient nuclear bomb."

Tuvok's eyebrow had climbed nearly to the top of his head at the barrage of information. He too could see the potential complications that could, and inevitably would, arise. He ordered his thoughts as logically as he could with the information that he had. "Logic would suggest that any and all mates would be compatible with each other, therefore minimizing the chance of contention. One can also assume that, since the mating is obviously voluntary, that it can be denied by either party. I would suggest that you tell the S'Terrans to make any possible bed-partners, whether they are mates or not, aware that monogamy may not be a possibility for them. If they are upfront with it from the beginning, it will head off many of the problems that would arise from betrayed or jilted lovers."

"And my situation?" Kathryn asked.

Tuvok held her gaze. "Only you can sort out your own situation. Did Seven of Nine return your affections? Was she given that opportunity? Will she be given the opportunity this time? Can you give up the love that you know you already have, for the possibility of one that will reject you affections? These are questions that only you can answer. At the same time, it is possible that Seven of Nine will also turn out to be one of Buffy's potential mates. There are many variable at work, and only by 'taking a leap of faith', will you be able to make your decision."

Even for a Vulcan, he almost sounded disgusted with himself for advising her to take that leap. It was the complete opposite of everything that Vulcan's were taught, but he knew that Humans were prone to do this when logic no longer applied. Kathryn knew this and was grateful because, as much as she hated to admit it, he was right. This was something that she had to figure out and deal with on her own.

- - - BtVS - - ST: Voyager - - -

Five hours later, Voyager was completing a rare planetary landing. The away team had verified that the planet was uninhabited except for a small variety of indigenous animals, but they were happy to report that, not only were the mountain ranges full to bursting with dilithium ore, the planet itself hosted an almost tropical climate, although the water was coral pink and the sky was a pale lavender color during the daytime. Tuvok quickly devised a working shore leave roster, as well as a team for mining the ore and shifts for Voyager's in depth examination. The captain remained on the ship, but did concede to relax enough that she could be seen in causal clothes, even on the bridge. She retreated to her Ready Room when the reports started filtering in. After reviewing them, she recalled the senior staff for a meeting.

"All right, people." Kathryn took her seat. "What's going on with my ship?"

"It appears that our shielding capabilities have been upgraded." Tuvok stated. "I am reading a modulating variance that we have never used before. We also have a full complement of weapons once again. The defensive shield emitter, phaser emitters, navigational deflectors, sensor arrays have all been strengthened by nearly 50. I have also discovered that the circumference of Voyager has increased by almost 20 percent and there are at least 5 additional decks located below deck 15. The new deck number 16 is showing all of the sensor readings of an M-Class planetary surface."

"Are you serious?" Tom sputtered.

"Quarantine it off until we can check it thoroughly." Kathryn ordered, well aware that a large portion of the crew would react just like Tom did. "I don't want anyone on any of those decks until we can get internal readings and verify that it's completely safe."

"We've scanned every inch of this ship and run every test I could think of," B'Elanna reported next. "Whatever that green light was, it changed every piece of tech that is used to pass energy throughout this ship from ordinary hardware to some sort of bio-organic technology. I startled Carey as he was scanning one of the conduit lines and he dropped the scanner on it, scraping it pretty good and almost yanking it out of the wall. I'm telling you, captain, we could actually see the conduit line repairing itself. We were also getting strange readings beneath the hull plating. I removed one of the plates and found what looks like new conduit growths. It's filled with some sort of bio-technic organisms. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it almost looked like blood. It's the most advanced thing I've ever seen."

"Is any of it dangerous?"

"Not that we can tell. It should actually run better. It's almost as if the ship itself has been given the ability to repair its own damage without external help."

Kathryn considered the pros and cons of that. If the ship could repair minor damages on it's own, that would take care of a lot of their headaches and free up her peoples time to concentrate on bigger concerns. "What about the doctor?"

"His matrix was altered exactly like he said it was. It was done so seamlessly that we can't tell where the alterations were made, but everything about his matrix has been upgraded."

"Keep an eye on it both the Doctor's matrix and Voyager's systems. Log everything. Seven?"

"The starmaps in Astrometics have become more detailed. All of the M-Class planets have been marked in the sectors that I have already filled, along with which ones had the ore deposits that Voyager needs to function efficiently."

"Well, that's helpful." Harry said.

"Indeed." Seven said dryly. Kathryn suppressed her smile. "I have also adjusted the internal sensors as you requested and scanned the crew. There has been a significant genetic changes to every crew member, with the exception of Neelix, Naomi Wildman and myself. It seems as though everyone's genetic structure has been enhanced more... efficiently. I have submitted the information to the Doctor, and he has concluded that everyone's genetic structures have been healed, for lack of a better word, and regressed by approximately four point five years."

"Are you saying that we've reverted to the ages and shapes that we were in when we first arrived in the Delta Quadrant?" Chakotay asked, startled. "Everyone?"

"Yes, Commander. Everyone, expect for Neelix, Naomi Wildman and myself." She looked at him as if he were hard of hearing.

Looking up from the Padd in front of her with Seven's official report, Kathryn's attention went immediately to the implant over Seven's eyebrow. Her eyes widened as she stared at it. "Seven, come here."

"Captain?" The implant that held her attention began inching up the woman's forehead.

"It looks like your implants have also been altered." Kathryn said, turning everyone's attention to the ex-drone. Instead of waiting, Kathryn rose from her seat and moved to stand next to Seven. Tilting the young woman's face up, Kathryn examined both the implant over her brow and the one on her jaw. They no longer stood out. It looked like they had been melded into her skin, moving flesh-like with the rest of her skin at the unconscious facial twitching. "Doctor, I want you to take Seven to Sickbay right now and examine this. I want to know how this is affecting her nanites."

"Yes, Captain." Seven and the Doctor answered. Then Seven continued her report. "I must inform you however, that you, Captain, have somehow acquired an extra genetic sequence in your DNA. It is similar to the unknown 10 that is found in the S'Terrans, although it seems to be incomplete."

"Seven has also submitted that data to me as well, Captain." The EMH interjected. "I would like you to report to Sickbay for a complete, in-depth examination as soon as you are able."

After they were gone, Kathryn returned to her seat. Kathryn looked down at the PADD in front of her. When she had finally returned to her quarters after Dawn's leaving, she had found a message waiting. Not having time to read it immediately, she had downloaded and brought it to her ready room. She finally read the message shortly before the meeting, after she had brought herself up-to-date with the reports that had been sent to her. It was a message from Dawn. She looked up at her officers still talking amongst themselves.

"Good work, everyone." She praised. "Go ahead and take your shore leave. We'll come back to this after I've had a chance to go over all the reports."


	11. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

"How you gonna get through this one, B?" Faith asked with concern as they were taken back to the holodeck. "You're so hot for that woman, _I_ can taste it."

Buffy shrugged as they all walked down a forest path towards a small log cabin. "I guess I'm just going to have to stay away from her until she makes a decision."

"Like you did in Sunnydale?" Faith snorted as they passed a pool with a small waterfall cascading into it. "Cause that worked so well the first time, and that was before the added problem of mates and this bond thing."

"She's right, Buffy." Willow added as they entered the cabin. "You couldn't avoid her even if you really did want to. You never could. The two of you have always called to each other and, with this bond connecting us, we can sense it. Your need spikes every time you share the same space."

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" Buffy asked them, dropping backwards onto the bed close to the back in exasperation. "I'm not going to force her to make a choice because I can't control my hormones!"

"No one's asking you to." Faith said, suddenly straddling her hips. "Just giving you an alternative to bleed it off a little."

Buffy was shocked. "I can't do that, Faith! You and Willow are..."

"Mates. And yes you can." The brunette argued, grinding her hips into the blonde and making her groan. "I know that you want to wait for her, but you can't. Your need is trickling down to the rest of us. I feel it, and Willow feels it. Soon, the others are going to feel it too, if you don't do something about it."

"I'm not going to use you, Faith, or Willow. You're my best friends." Buffy said hoarsely even as her hands gripped the other woman's hips. Her blood was still hot with suppressed need. She groaned as Faith kissed her roughly.

"It's not using if we want it, though, is it?" Faith asked, nuzzling her throat. "This place might look like open space, but it's still an enclosed room. The scent of your arousal fills the place."

"Willow?" Buffy gasped as the brunette nibbled then sucked hard on her neck directly above the pulse.

"She left a few minutes ago." Faith answered, moaning as Buffy finally gave in. Buffy's hands tangled in Faith's hair as she took the younger woman's mouth in a sizzling kiss. _Maybe there is something to that whole holding back thing_, Faith thought as that kiss ignited her whole body. Buffy explored her mouth like she'd never kissed a woman before, making sure she examined every hidden nook and cranny. Faith had never been kissed so thoroughly in her entire life.

"No!" Buffy gasped, jerking away from the kiss. She scrambled from beneath Faith and stood next to the bed on shaky legs. "I can't. I'm sorry, Faith, but I, I just can't."

- - - BtVS - - ST: Voyager - - -

"Hey, Buffy." Willow sat next to her friend on the cliff. Faith sat at her other side, but remained silent.

"I know you guys are right." Buffy began, staring at the waterfall. "I just can't use you like that, Faith."

"B, I wasn't kidding when I said that we wanted it." Faith finally spoke. "Mates or not, the three of us are still bound by something. Something different than the bond that connects all of us. Your need is our need."

"Please, Buffy." Willow whispered achingly. "We know that you don't want to pressure Kathryn, but this need isn't normal, even for you. You know her taste. You know her scent. Your need is getting stronger instead of tapering off like it should. You're not supposed to be feeling this until you've already mated. Buffy, please. You've got to do something, or you're going to snap."

"But, Willow..." Buffy began, tears filling her eyes.

Willow stopped her with an achingly sweet kiss. Pulling away, the former witch leaned her forehead against the blonde's. When she spoke, her voice was shaky and sad. "Please, Buffy. Let us take care of you for once. Let us help you."

Faith had moved so that she was kneeling behind Buffy and pressed against her back during the kiss. Buffy had been fighting to ignore the feel of that body molded to her even as Willow kissed her again, this time with growing passion. She had been with Faith before, several times in fact until she got together with Willow, after patrol when they had worked themselves up fighting the Bringers and their cronies before they had started taking the Potentials with them, when the hunger became too strong for even the blonde Slayer's incredible self-control to ignore or safely contain.

Which gave Faith an advantage now. She could feel the need trying to claw its way out of Buffy. As Willow kissed her again, her hands moved up from Buffy's hips to cup her breasts, pinching the nipples roughly. She also knew about Buffy's need for violence in her sexplay, and vaguely wondered if Kathryn knew about it too. Faith bit into Buffy's neck hard, nearly breaking the skin, then sucked hard on the spot. The pain was enough to break Buffy's fragile hold on herself and, before Faith could move, she found herself on her back being kissed within an inch of her life. Settling her smaller body between Faith's legs, Buffy growled her arousal into that kiss before breaking away to yank open Faith's top. Her eyes were practically glowing at the sight of those lush, pale breasts bouncing free.

"Are you sure, Faith?" Buffy managed to ask through the haze of lust that had settled over her. She felt Willow withdraw, and for a moment, wished that the former witch would stay, even if it was just to watch.

"Oh, yeah." Faith groaned. Buffy's abdomen was pressing down at the juncture between her thighs and it was driving her crazy. "Don't worry 'bout us. We're gonna have fun."

"Fun, hmmm." Buffy purred, her amber eyes darkening to a molten gold. Leaning down, she licked one of those perfect breasts as she pressed her body down more firmly. "That's one way to put it."

Faith response was a strangled moan as a hot mouth suddenly engulfed her breast. Buffy suckled on her as if she were starving, rocking her body as she teased the other breast with feather-light touches. Faith's hands pulled at Buffy's top. It took everything she had to pull her mind back from the intense pleasure to retake control. Taking Buffy by surprise, she flipped them over and ripped open the smaller woman's shirt. Grabbing Buffy's wrists, she held them over her head as she fed on those breasts, biting and sucking the nipples until Buffy was crying out and her body was shifting restlessly.

"Do you remember the last time I had you spread out like this?" Faith murmured, kissing her way up Buffy's throat to her lick at her open lips. "We had stopped by Red's old house, worked up after fighting those Bringers, and you were all hot from fighting your attraction to KJ."

"Yes." Buffy panted just before Faith's lips settled on hers for a kiss that had her nearly at the boiling point. Faith released Buffy's lips and wrists and finished undressing the blonde. Small hands tangled in her shimmering brown hair as Faith sank her teeth into the sensitive skin between her breasts. "Faith, please."

"You wanted to take her and spread her and feast until she screamed." Faith murmured, scraping a nail across a rock hard nipple as her other hand ghosted down her body to tease at the folds between her thighs. "You want to now, don't you?"

"Y-Yes." Buffy whimpered, the words provoking corresponding images. "Faaaith. Oh, Goddess, please."

Faith's nostrils flared. God, she loved it when Buffy begged, but she kept her pace. "I know what you want to do to her. You want to sink your teeth into that creamy throat and stake your claim." Buffy moaned, her body undulating, trying desperately for firmer contact. "You want to push your tongue inside her and make her screams echo through this ship." By now, Buffy was panting raggedly. Faith groaned herself as Buffy started pressing into her scalp with her nails. "You want to push your fingers up in there just like this."

Buffy came screaming as Faith shoved three fingers into her. Faith held herself still as the inner muscles squeezed her hard. She waited until the spasms tapered off before she began moving, shifting her upper body until she could put real strength into the thrusts as Buffy began pushing back. "C'mon, B. We ain't nowhere near done yet."

Back at the cottage, Willow shuddered as the backlash of Buffy's orgasm washed through her. She had come to get a blanket and some food, knowing that they would up there for quite a while. Halfway down, she felt the full effects of the bond between them as the feeling of Buffy's intense pleasure took her by surprise. When Dawn had told them that the three of them were mentally bonded (four after Kathryn became Buffy's mate), she hadn't realized that it would be at such an intense level. She knew that Buffy was not feeling her and Faith when they were intimate, but this was unlike anything she'd ever felt before. She guessed it was because Buffy's need had no focus, so it was left just reaching out and affecting them all. As the aftershocks tapered off, she quickly gathered the supplies and headed back up, more than ready for her turn.

She reached them just as Buffy peaked again. Her own sex clenched in sympathy along with the ex-Slayer. Her mate had the blonde spread out and was leaning over her, giving extra strength to the hand thrusting between her legs. Faith had one of Buffy's legs trapped high on her waist, and was sucking on her breast for added sensation. Buffy's scream echoed off the cliff, her head thrown back and her back arched as she clutched at Faith with a desperation that Willow could see from her vantage point. Goddess, it was the hottest thing she'd ever seen. Glancing down at the bundle in her hands, she was glad that she had taken the time to check the pockets of Faith's coat. She spread out the supplies as the two women collapsed in an exhausted heap. She set aside the harness and top and went to finish undressing her lover. _Oh, yeah, this was going to be so much fun_, she grinned wickedly to herself.


	12. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Alone in her quarters, Kathryn reread the message from Dawn. There was mention of almost everything that her officers had reported about the repair and upgrade of her beloved ship. There were also details of what she had done to the crew themselves. She had turned back their biological clocks, so to speak. Although they didn't look any younger, if any internal or genetic testing were run, it would show that every member of the crew, with the exception of the child, Naomi, had been reset to their physical peak for their various species. All injuries or illnesses, whether contracted or hereditary, had been completely cured. Even the Pon Farr for Vorik and Tuvok, and by extension, T'Pel, had been delayed for another seven years, at the latest. Even Seven's emotion inhibitor had been removed.

The boost to Voyager was done for several reasons. It was more than just a gift for what they had done. Dawn was trying to give them the best chance of surviving what was out there better than they had before, but the real reason was because The First had set traps and previously unencountered enemies on their path back home. Even worse, the First had somehow managed to rewrite the histories of several of the more vicious Delta Quadrant natives, and now they were directly in her path.

_Son of a bitch. I didn't agree to that,_ she thought to herself as she moved over to the replicator and ordered a fresh cup of coffee. Now she knew how Buffy felt in regards to the mysterious Powers That Be. Moving over to the viewport, she watched the crew as they played and tried to relax. There had been some good news in the message. Apparently, they were completely safe where they were. According to Dawn, no one would venture in their direction and they were completely shielded from any random scans for the next two weeks. She turned slightly as the door chimed. "Come in."

Buffy walked in, fully dressed and wearing a long brown leather coat. "Why are you here and not out there? You haven't stepped one foot off of this ship since 'shore leave' began."

"I have to find out exactly what happened to my ship." Kathryn turned to face the young woman. "And how would you know?"

"I can track you anywhere. Your scent is not anywhere on the planet, so you've haven't been on it." Buffy informed her. "Your work can wait for a day. We talked about this, remember? You need time off as much as the next person. Being captain does not make you superhuman, and you can't do it all in one day. Is there somewhere important that you need to be?"

Kathryn looked at the padds cluttering her desk. "No, I suppose not."

"Good, then let's go. Faith and Willow are waiting for us outside." Buffy pushed Kathryn out of the door before she could protest. "We need to get you into some jeans again." She muttered to herself, her eyes involuntarily dropping to the captain's ass.

Faith and Willow saw the unconscious sway of Kathryn's hips as Buffy gently pushed her along. It reminded them of the Kathryn that they had known back in Sunnydale. Relaxed even as she taught a bunch of young girls to fight a war. Talking Buffy out of the depression that she had sunken into those last few harsh years. Teasing Buffy unmercifully after they became lovers and Kathryn realized just how fixated Buffy was with her ass.

"What are we going to do if she refuses to mate?" Willow whispered to Faith, knowing full well that Buffy completely focused on the hips swaying in front of her. She was following Kathryn down the corridor without paying any attention to her surroundings.

"No idea." Faith shrugged. "It'll be bad, though. I doubt B would even stay on the ship if that happened."

Willow thought about that, and fervently hoped it didn't come to that. She shook her head and turned to her friend. Despite their past, they had become really close after Kathryn had finally forced them to talk through their issues. Faith understood the dark parts of her that Buffy couldn't, and she had really helped her when the guilt and depression settled in. Nevertheless, the relationship between the two had taken everyone by surprise.

"Hey, I noticed that a couple of our crew have started pairing up." Faith commented as they drew closer to the other two women.

"Hey, yeah, I saw Michael with Erin the other day, and Ororo had Tasha against a tree just a few hours ago." Buffy said. They had reached the turbolift and her attention had been broken when Kathryn turned around to face the doors. "Did you know that Ororo stashed one of her toys in her coat?"

"So do I." Faith shrugged. "Got a pair of cuffs too. Never knew when the witch would start feeling frisky during patrol."

"Yes, it's _so_ good to know you're making full use of those dimensional pockets." Willow said dryly, even as she flushed at Faith's comment. Faith had loved those cuffs the moment she'd seen Willow in them when Willow had been kidnapped by a magic dealer with a bondage fetish. "I still can't believe you kept those damn things, Faith."

"If you're a good girl, I'll bring them out to play with." Faith whispered into Willow's ear, moving so that she was plastered to the red-head's back.

"Dimensional pockets?" Kathryn looked over at Willow, ignoring Faith's provocative movements. She was just as used to them as the other girls were. "That's just a theory."

Willow blushed again for a different reason. "Umm, well, it was a theory on our Earth, too. I kinda ran across it online and decided to take a look."

Buffy glanced at her best friend with amusement. "What Willow means, is that she hacked into the Research & Development Records of the NSA because we heard rumors that they were working on an experimental detection device that would detect anyone with mystical abilities. She destroyed all the files on it, but picked up a few things while she was in there."

"What else have you managed?" Kathryn asked curiously.

"Hey, B, you smell that?" Faith suddenly asked before Willow could respond. Buffy glanced at the brunette curiously before taking a deep breath. Her eyes popped open. "I smell fresh air."

Willow looked at them as if they'd lost their minds. "Umm, guys, we're on a planet."

"No, Will, this air is different. It smells like Earth." Buffy told her.

"Yeah, and there's someone else there." Faith added. "A new scent that I haven't picked up before."

"Janeway to Tuvok." Kathryn tapped her communicator, not questioning their senses. "We have an intruder on one of the new decks."

Willow opened her senses. "Wait, Kathryn. Whoever it is, they're unconscious, and the thought pattern is familiar. Can you simply have whoever it is transported to your brig?"

"Can you be a little more specific, Willow?"

"I recognize the thought patterns of the different species on the ship, but I haven't really met anyone, so I don't know what pattern belongs to what species. I just know that it's a thought pattern similar to one that already here."

Kathryn thought quickly. "Computer, lock on to the intruder and transport directly to Sickbay under Level 10 Security force field. Tuvok, take your team there. Doctor, report to Sickbay."

The three S'Terrans followed the captain quietly as they headed for Sickbay instead of the planet. Although they had wanted to take Kathryn out to relax for the day, they were well aware that the safety of the ship came first. They arrived at the same time as Tuvok and the security team, and Kathryn nodded for them to precede them. The doors slid open and Tuvok stepped through and, in a move completely out of character for the stoic Chief of Security, froze in his tracks. Kathryn stared at Tuvok's back for a moment, then stepped around him, her curiosity spiked. The person on the bed had her jaw dropping in complete and utter shock.

It was T'Pel. Tuvok's wife. Who was in the Alpha Quadrant.

"Oh. My. God."

- - - BtVS - - ST: Voyager - - -

Kathryn made the command decision to remain at the planet while they dealt with this new complication. The sudden appearance of Tuvok's wife was not an issue to be working through as they traveled under the constant danger of being attack.

A week after the discovery of T'Pel, Buffy, Willow and Faith finally managed to drag Kathryn off the ship for her own R&R, dragging Seven of Nine, Ro Laren and B'Elanna Torres out for the day as well. They had found a sheltered cove that was semi-private while still keeping them in view of the others. Laren and Buffy were sparring hand-to-hand. Willow and Seven were deep in conversation about something Kathryn was determined not to hear. The S'Terrans acceptance of the Borg, all of them, not just the three with them now, had done wonders for Seven of Nine. The patience that Buffy, Willow and Faith show when dealing with her had allowed Seven to relax enough to finally start to fit in with the rest of the crew, knowing that they did not see her as something to fear as most of the others did. Faith was showing B'Elanna what Kathryn had taught her with the bat'leth. The bright sunlight made their different hues in their hair more visible, and twinkled off of their new commbadges that had issued to every S'Terran when they decided that they wanted to go onto the planet as well.

Kathryn turned to watch Buffy. She could feel the same draw to the younger woman that she had felt when she'd first arrived at Sunnydale. Just as she hadn't been able to help herself from attempting to bring Seven back into humanity's fold after she had severed her from the Collective, Kathryn couldn't stop herself from trying to put the spark of life back into the sad, haunted eyes. She had done whatever it took. Been a listener during those late nights when her nightmares became too much. Been a moderator and forcing the group to talk through their problems instead of just pushing them aside because of this apocalypse. Kathryn remembered Dawn's comment about them freaking out and kicking Buffy of their houses, and when the panic began after so many of the girls had been killed because of one of Buffy's hunches, she had been forced to become the cooler head and make them realize just what they were saying and how they were about to do something that could never be forgiven. It was ultimately the attraction between them that had brought Buffy out of the isolated shell she'd retreated into.

Kathryn leaned back on her replicated beach chair and closed her eyes as she thought about her current situation. She loved Buffy, as much now as she did then. Just as she loved Seven. She admitted to herself that she _was_ going to accept the mating with the S'Terran Prime, but she couldn't risk being out of commission for an undetermined length of time just yet. She thought about what that would be like. Buffy had been a new experience for Kathryn, even after B'Elanna. God, the things that girl could think of made her blood run hot and she just barely managed to stifle a moan. A sudden cry of pain broke through her thoughts and her eyes flew open to see Laren clutching her own arm just below the hand wrapped tightly around her wrist. Buffy stood frozen, holding Laren's arm immobile despite the Bajoran's struggling. Her eyes were focused on Kathryn with an intensity that sent shivers down her spine, and she realized with a start, that the woman had somehow sensed her arousal.

'_We've gotta get her outta here, Red.'_ Faith said to her mate as everyone had looked over at the cry. It had been a few days since their last coming together, and it seemed that each time, the effect Kathryn was having on Buffy was getting stronger and harder to resist. _'It's happening too fast. She's about to claim KJ right now, whether she wants it or not.'_

Between the arousal filling her senses and the struggles of the woman she was holding, Buffy's instincts were going nuts. She wanted to tell Laren to stop moving, but the only thing that came out was a subvocal growl that had everyone freezing. She would have released her hold long ago, but she knew that it was the only think keeping her from taking Kathryn right there in front of everyone. She was screaming for Faith and Willow in her head, but she wasn't sure if it was getting through the haze of lust and need that had settled over her. Her teeth hurt, she vaguely realized as she felt her lip curl up to bare sharp canines as her gaze settled on the bared throat as the captain was looking up at her.

"Seven, I need a favor." Willow leaned over and whispered to the tall blonde. "As soon as Buffy releases Laren, we need to be beamed directly to the holodeck. Kathryn can explain why after we're gone."

Seven gauged the serious tone of her voice before nodding curtly. She tapped her communicator. "Computer, lock onto three closest S'Terran biosignatures and beam directly to holodeck two on my mark."

The communicator chirped in acknowledgement just as Buffy finally lost her tenuous grasp on her control. She dropped Laren's hand and started for Kathryn, ignoring the others as insignificant, until Faith and Willow were suddenly standing between her and her mate. The look in her eyes was feral as she bared her teeth at them in a snarl. "Move."

"Can't do that, B." Faith shook her head. It took everything she had in her to stand her ground. "You don't want it to happen like this."

"Come on, Buffy, let's go back to the ship." Willow pleaded, also feeling the instinctive need to back down in the face of the imperious demand. "We'll take care of you."

"My mate." Buffy snarled, her eyes beginning to glow with an almost metallic golden color as her need mixed with her fury at the interference. "She's mine, and I will have her."

Buffy suddenly launched herself into the small space created between the other two when Willow took a step towards her, just as Seven finally gave the command that beamed them back on board Voyager. The three women looked at each other, then at the captain. The S'Terrans had switched to their own language in those last few minutes, and they hadn't been able to understand them, but they knew that the captain did.

"Okay, what just happened?" B'Elanna finally broke the silence.


	13. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Buffy howled in rage as she took in her new surroundings. Her control in shreds, all she could think was that they were keeping her from her mate. She turned on Faith, but the brunette was ready for her. Faith tackled her, twisting around the blonde's body until she had Buffy immobile. The moment she deemed it safe, she nodded to Willow, who immediately came to her side and knelt next to them, taking her friends face in her hands. "Buffy, Buffy, you have to come back to us."

Buffy just growled at her. She was beyond rational thought. The blonde ex-slayer heaved again against Faith's hold, wringing a low grunt of effort from the brunette holding her immobile.

'_I'm not sure how much longer I can hold her, Red.' _Faith gritted her teeth and desperately held on. In her current state, she didn't put it past Buffy to tear her way through the ship to lure Kathryn to her. _'If you've got any ideas, now would definitely be the time to try them out.'_

Willow opened her mind, forcing herself not to recoil at the complex mix of fury and hunger screaming within her friend. _'I can't reach her Faith. She's too lost within her own need to _think_, much less respond rationally.'_

'_So what do we do, Red? I'm losing my grip, and don't think I can match her in a fight any more, 'specially in this condition.'_

'_Not 'we', love, me.' _Willow's response held an odd note to Faith's mental 'ear', a tone that carried a strange mix of emotions '_She's too far into the hunger to respond well to an attempt to dominate her.'_

Without any further hint as to what she was about to do, Willow scrambled to her feet...

And telekinetically _blasted_ Faith and Buffy apart, immediately bolting into the trees leading down cliffside. Frantically shaking her head, Faith's vision cleared to see Buffy jump on her feet and tear after Willow almost before she'd stopped rolling. She didn't even give Faith a backward glance, fully focused on the 'prey' that had attacked her and fled.

'_Dammit, Red. This ain't a fuckin' game!'_ Faith lunged back to her feet, tearing across the clearing and down the path faster than she could remember moving before. She knew what Willow's game plan was. She also knew why she hadn't bothered warning her. _'If she doesn't kill you, I might!_'

Even as she ran after them, she did her part, sending Buffy mental images of Willow, dipping into their more x-rated scenarios. As the chase progressed down the cliff, the scent of Buffy's enraged pheromones began to mix with sexual pheromones as well. She could also smell Willow's arousal. The chase always got the redhead worked up. Faith spared a thought of concern for her mate, _I hope she knows what she's doing._

- - - BtVS - - ST: Voyager - - -

Willow was running faster than she could remember moving. _'Gotta keep moving. Got to- EEP!' _She had a split second's warning, a hint of a displaced air right behind her head, but it was enough time to instinctively swerve, lashing out again with her mind to "push" Buffy as she flew past, sending her into a belly slide into the underbrush. The snarling scream of frustration spurred Willow into dipping into a reserve she hadn't yet tapped, blurring down the path. Nearly winded, Willow choked down a sob of relief, seeing the cabin finally come into view. A quick glance behind her sent her forward at a dead run, as a slightly dirty, berserk blonde S'Terran Prime came hurtling out of the shade of the forest like she'd been shot from a cannon. She also could sense her own mate following not far behind.

'_Faith, go to Kathryn.'_ Willow told Faith._ 'Tell her to stay away. If she comes in before we can bring Buffy back fully, all of this would be for nothing._'

She 'felt' Faith's reluctant assent and sensed her veer off in another direction. She was about ready to collapse herself. She had run further than she'd hoped, getting all the way up the steps, onto the porch with her hand reaching for the door's handle. That's when her run came to an end, her pursuer's hand closing on her shoulder and spinning the redheaded ex-witch to face her. Willow's vision blurred for a second as she found herself pinned between the closed door and Buffy, her head meeting the door rather hard. When her vision cleared, she found herself practically nose to nose with the snarling Prime. For a long moment, Willow thought she'd lost the gamble, and the only chance she'd had to bring Buffy back. Until she felt Buffy tangle her left hand in her hair and yank her head back hard. Her gasp caught by the ravenous mouth devouring her own. Willow whimpered as Buffy's mouth burned a path from her lips down her throat, never releasing her hold on her hair as she did.

She whimpered Buffy's name, the blonde's grip tightening her only answer. She felt Buffy's right hand curve around her back as her lips returned to her own, drawing her in, pinning her fully against the door. Once she was certain her prey was unable to evade, she moved her hands to snare Willow's wrists. Pulling back to meet her captive's eyes, she deliberately pushed her arms above her head, ensuring that she could not escape. Though, in the back of her inflamed instincts, she felt that her prey wasn't interested in escaping anymore. Buffy then proceeded to drive Willow insane, starting with long, ravishing kisses, and then proceeding onward to rubbing her entire body against her captive. Using her knee, she shoved Willow's thighs apart and stepped closer, using her lower body to press firmly against the former witch's already hard clit. Willow whimpered into Buffy's mouth, and she felt the blonde's lips curl in a slight smile. Satisfied that her prey was no longer resisting, she released Willow's wrists to rip off both of their tops. Purring, she rubbed her breasts against her friend's.

"So, you wish to take her place?" Buffy purred dangerously, her mind still lost in the haze.

"N-no, not replace h-her." Willow stammered as the Prime continued to rub their bodies together. Buffy's eyes were a dark molten gold, glowing hot with rage and lust, but Willow didn't dare break eye contact. "We j-just didn't w-want you to do s-s-something you'd regret."

"Hmm." Buffy's lips curled as she seemed to consider that, exposing sharp canines that looked _extremely_ threatening from this close. "Would I have regretted it, though?"

Before Willow could formulate an answer Buffy kissed her again, pushing her tongue between her lips before bending at the knees to wrap her hands around Willow's thighs and lift her off of her feet. Kicking open the door, she carried her friend through the cabin and into her bedroom. Laying her on the bed, Buffy quickly stripped the other woman, then herself. When Willow regained her senses she found herself staring into her captor's burning eyes. Spreading Willow's pale thighs, the Prime bent down to draw in the scent of her arousal. She licked up the juices coating the inner thighs with long, languid strokes that had the redhead shuddering.

"Oh, Goddess, Buffy." Willow whimpered as her hands clutched at damp blonde hair.

Purring again, Buffy began making her way closer to where the redhead was trying to guide her. She sucked on those pretty puffy lips, teasing the opening, even flicking her tongue over Willow's hard clit. Willow's hips were undulating and she had lifted her legs to encircle the Buffy's head.

"Buffy." Willow groaned. The edge was so close. She could sense it. She wanted it. "Ohh, please."

Suddenly, Buffy pulled away, and Willow nearly broke down in tears. Crawling on all fours, Buffy licked her way up Willow's body, dipping into her navel teasingly before moving up to scrape sharp teeth over swollen breasts. Willow was nearly hyperventilating by the time Buffy reached her lips.

"You like being the prey, Willow?" Buffy murmured against her lips. She kept Willow's legs spread wide, leaving the redhead unable to do anything but pant in her need. "You wanted to be eaten, did you? Feasted on by a predator?"

"Please!" Willow gasped, groaning as the aroused rumbling from the S'Terran Prime vibrated through her. She cried out as Buffy rolled her hips in a way that made their clits stroke firmly over each other. "Oh, Goddess."

Buffy continued to move over her, smiling ferally as Willow desperately pleaded for her to move faster, harder. "Oh, no, Willow. This is going to be at _my_ pace. I ran you down, played your game. Now, you are _my_ prize, and it's my turn to play."

After that, nothing more was said as Buffy pushed the now sobbing redhead harder and harder until she came screaming Buffy's name. Buffy's sex clenched at the intense pleasure flooding Willow's features, but she didn't orgasm herself. Taking Willow's hands in her own, she nuzzled the shuddering redhead's neck, inhaling the delicious scent of her climax. She purred in satisfaction as she waited for Willow to come down from her endorphin high, not wanting her to miss a moment of what was to come. The second the panting redhead was sufficiently recovered to open her eyes, Buffy rose up on her knees and flipped the other woman over, pulling her up to her hands and knees.

"Buffy?" Willow gasped as the Prime grasped her hands and moved them to the headboard.

"Grab onto the headboard." Buffy ordered before sucking on a sensitive spot behind her ear. Willow shuddered anew as she did as she was told. Immediately, small, callused fingers began pinching and pulling at her sensitive nipples. Buffy seemed content to play there for a moment, but then she moved on, sliding the fingers of one hand down over her stomach, using her nails to devastating effect, until she could touch and tease between the former witch's trembling thighs. "You look so hot like this, Will. All spread out and helpless. Makes me wish I had one of those toys Kathryn used to tell me about, so that I could push it inside of you and feel you squeeze every inch. Hear you beg for more. Would you like that?"

Willow could do nothing but whimper. Buffy had slipped two fingers inside of her while she was speaking, but wasn't moving them. She felt her inner muscles clutching at the penetration, desperately trying for some sort of friction, when suddenly, Buffy was gone. She couldn't help but cry out in dismay.

"Don't move." Buffy growled in her ear with such command that Willow instinctively tightened her grip, her whole body trembling. "I think that's a perfect idea, don't you, Will? Lucky for you, I've got one. Had it made as soon as I found one I liked in the computer database. I'm planning on anointing it on my first night with Kathryn, but there's no reason not to have a holodeck version for now. You know, for practice."

Willow's body was shaking hard now as Buffy made her order to the computer. Buffy moved to the side of the bed so that Willow could see her as she fitted the toy into place. It was a neutral gray color until it attached to Buffy's body, then its internal sensors automatically adjusted it to Buffy's skin tone and optimal sizing, which was bigger than Willow would have expected, the straps shifted as well until they were practically invisible. All in all, it looked like Buffy had suddenly grown a new appendage, and it had Willow spasming in need. She groaned as she watched Buffy stroke the appendage with her own fingers.

"Oh, Goddess, Will, you should try this." Buffy moaned, her head thrown back. Willow thought that she'd never seen Buffy look more beautiful. "It feels so real. I think I get it now why guys are so attached to it. I wonder what a blowjob would feel like."

She continued stroking herself for a moment, then shifted her attention back to the redhead when Willow moaned at the sight. "Oh, I haven't forgotten about you."

Buffy disappeared from Willow's field of vision, and a moment later, Willow felt the bed dip and Buffy climbed back on. Small hands gripped her waist firmly as she felt the tip of the toy tease her folds. They both moaned at the same time. The feeling was incredible to Buffy as she pushed in slowly. She could feel those inner muscles clamping down on the intruder, trying to suck her in faster.

"Ohhh, Willow, you're so tight." Buffy said through clenched teeth.

"Buffy, please!" Willow broke down. "ohpleaseohpleaseohplease."

At the proof of Willow's total surrender, what little shred of control Buffy had somehow held onto went up in smoke. Draping herself over Willow's back, she bit down on the soft flesh between Willow's neck and shoulder, holding her still, as she thrust the full length of the toy inside the redhead's oh, so ready body. The sudden penetration after the long slow torture had Willow bucking and screaming through her climax. Biting down harder, nearly breaking the skin, Buffy continued to push through the convulsing muscles, ruthlessly milking the climax for all it was worth even as her senses burned at the feel of those spasms along the entire length of the appendage. She could feel her own body coiling, tightening with every thrust, preparing for the powerful orgasm that she felt just out of her reach. As she felt Willow's climax tapering off, she moved one hand around to pinch her friend's hard clit as the other moved up to circle Willow's throat, holding her head still as Buffy's lips moved up to her ear.

"Just imagine, Will." Buffy purred throatily. "Faith's next."

That was all it took to throw Willow right into fresh spasms, her inner muscles clamping down so hard that she dragged Buffy roaring right over the edge with her into orgasm.

- - - BtVS - - ST: Voyager - - -

Keeping watch for Kathryn outside of the holodeck, Faith collapsed against the wall as the backlash of Buffy's orgasm flared through her. She actually felt her vision dim from the strength of the climax, and focused on breathing through it until her vision cleared once again.

Kathryn was going to have to do something soon, Faith realized. She knew what had set Buffy off. She had also scented the captain's sudden arousal. It had been like waving a red flag in front of an enraged bull. During all of their other encounters when Buffy and Kathryn were in the same room together, Kathryn had been focused on her work, and Buffy had been dealing with just her own needs, but when Kathryn had relaxed enough to acknowledge her own need for the blonde, it had immediately set off Buffy's need to attend to her mate. Willow was right, Buffy shouldn't be reacting like this. It was like the two of them were already fully mated. They were going to have to talk to the captain soon. They couldn't go on like this.

"Hey, computer, where's the cap'n?" Faith asked.

_'**Captain Janeway is in her quarters.'**_

"Where's that?" Faith wondered aloud. "I need to talk to her."

_'**The captain's quarters are located on deck three.'**_The computer intoned as a series of blinking arrows began flashing along the wall panel. _**'Please follow the arrows.'**_


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

"So, Captain, wanna tell us what's going on?" B'Elanna asked. "That didn't look good at all."

"I agree." Ro Laren said. "It looked like Buffy was trying to attack you."

Kathryn looked at the faces of the three women before her and knew that she wasn't getting out of this one without an explanation, especially since it looked like Buffy was now a security risk in Laren's eyes. Sighing, she tapped her communicator. "Computer, four to beam directly to captain's quarters."

In her quarters, she directed the others to make themselves comfortable and offered them drinks. After passing out the requested beverages, she took her own seat and all was silent as she gathered her thoughts.

Finally, Captain Janeway looked up, and swept the ones before with solemn eyes, "What I am about to tell you is not to be spoken of to others unless it becomes a threat to the ship as a whole." She raised her hand, one finger upraised at Laren's reaction, waiting. When Laren reluctantly closed her lips, she continued.

"The only reason I'm disclosing this information without asking them is to avoid any misunderstandings. Despite what it seemed, she would not have hurt me. Actually," Kathryn paused a moment, a very faint flush of color barely touching her cheeks, "I may have inadvertently set her off myself."

Torres started, "Captain, you did nothing at all that could have warranted an attack! You were barely even _looking_ at her when she turned on you. How could that have 'set her off'?!?"

Kathryn hesitated a moment, trying to find the words, when Seven commented, "She detected your arousal, did she not?"

You could have heard a pin drop after that matter-of-fact statement. Kathryn dropped her head in her hands as Laren and Torres, speechless, looked first at Seven, then the Captain, before looking at each other.

It was Torres who cautiously broke the silence, "Captain, is there something between you and Buffy we might need to know about?"

"This information _does not_ leave this room, understand?" They nodded. Kathryn leaned her head back against the couch. and sighed. "Buffy and I were involved back in Sunnydale."

After a long moment of stunned silence, B'Elanna exclaimed in shock. "Kahless, Captain, she's got to be at least 10 years younger than you!" For once, she didn't quail at the glare Kathryn turned on her. Seven and Laren, however, remained silent and waited.

"She's very... persuasive, when she wants to be." Kathryn finally responded. "Besides, her first boyfriend was almost over two hundred years old, so I doubt she saw it the same way. The private conversation that I had with Dawn was needed to tell me something very important that impacted that relationship. Apparently, along with those other feline qualities that they received, they also ended up with a need to mate, and it just so happens that _I_ am Buffy's mate."

When her revelation didn't garner any comments, she lifted her head to look at her officers. All three were staring at her in speechless shock, even Seven. She gave them a moment to absorb that news before she continued. "I've been putting her off for the moment, because mating with a S'Terran will introduce and activate genetic anomolies in Non-S'Terran mates, making them, in this case, me, her equal in strength and such, and I can't afford to take that time away from the ship right now."

"On the contrary, Captain." Seven disagreed. "Now would be the perfect time."

All heads swung to stare at Seven in renewed shock. She ignored the others as she focused on Kathryn. "We are currently in the safest position we have ever been in. A place where we can relax. There are no ship or even planets for more than 15 lightyears in any direction, and with the enhanced sensors, we would spot a ship long before it reached us. If you have to take time off for these changes, then now is the time."

"Seven!" B'Elanna turned to the Borg. "Do you realize what you're saying?!? You're actually telling her to take a chance on genetic changes. We don't know enough about what could happen to her if she did that."

"Actually, I do." Kathryn spoke up. "Depending on who supplies the rest of the genetic code, it gives the mate the strengths and abilities to become equal to their S'Terran mate."

They gaped at their commanding officer. Seven was the first to respond. "Captain, if you have this information, why did you not share it with the doctor or myself when we asked?"

"For two reasons. One, I didn't find out until after the meeting concluded and I had that private conversation with Dawn, and two, the S'Terrans all know, and they would tell their potential mates when it was necessary. It's a mating procedure, Seven, and that's not something that becomes general knowledge."

"You still haven't explained why Buffy attacked you." Laren reminded.

Before Kathryn could answer, the door chimed. "Hey, in there!" Seven heard Faith yell. "I can answer that."

"It is Faith." Seven informed the others. "She said that she could answer Laren's question."

"She can hear us?" B'Elanna asked, shocked yet again by these people's abilities.

"Let her in, Seven." Seven opened the door to reveal the flushed and dirty brunette. Kathryn looked at her in concern. "Faith, you look like you've been running through the woods."

"Heh, well, that's probably because I have." Faith answered. She looked around at the others. "Do you want them to hear this?"

"They might as well." Kathryn admitted. "They'll just worry at it anyway."

"Umm, okay, then." Faith visibly gathered herself, and Kathryn couldn't help but worry. She had never seen Faith out of sorts. "Well, B's gone a little nuts." She ignored the obvious reactions to _that_ statement. "She's been reacting to you as if you two are already mated. The mating fire is burning hot in her, and it shouldn't be. We've been trying to take care of it."

"Wait a minute." B'Elanna interrupted, outraged, but not really understanding why. She immediately decided it was for the captain's sake. "Are you telling us that you've been sleeping with Buffy? I thought she was the captain's mate?"

"We've been doing what was necessary to give B the strength she needed to let KJ decide on her own." Faith told her bluntly. "B's instincts are way outta whack when it comes to KJ. Me and Willow give her what she needs to bleed off the worst of her hunger so that she can be around the Cap without pouncing."

"That's a very good analogy, Slayer, I'm impressed." Said a new voice.

Kathryn suddenly wished she'd had a whiskey and soda instead of just coffee. "What are you doing here, Q?"

"I'm here to tell you what's wrong with the luscious little blonde." Q stated magnanimously. Focused on Kathryn, he was unprepared for the fist that caught him in the jaw, sending him slamming hard into the far wall.

"Who is this asshole?" Faith asked, standing in front of her friend's mate protectively.

"It's all right, Faith." Kathryn put a calming hand on the girl's tense shoulder. "He's one of the powers that helped bring you here. He's a little obnoxious, but he won't hurt anyone, right Q?"

"Of course not, Kathy." Q said, rubbing his jaw. They could see his surprise that he'd actually been struck. "I'm insulted that you'd even think I do something to hurt you."

Kathryn's brow rose, and he chuckled before smiling charmingly. "Past encounters not withstanding. You're my son's godmother. He'd kill me if I did something to you."

"You said you got news about B?" Faith interrupted. "What did you do to her? Why's she acting like this?"

"I didn't do anything to her." Q denied. "Her little side trip to hell, and being forcibly dragged out of heaven screwed up you friend. Her evolution progressed in leaps and bounds instead of steady like yours did. That's why you are all so closely bonded, or in some cases, will be closely bonded. As for her reactions to Kathryn, here, her instincts say that they are already mates, from their previous relationship, even though her mind knows differently. That is why she can speak with you mentally, even though the others can't. That's also why she's having so much trouble with her reactions."

Q turned to Kathryn, and his face suddenly turned completely serious. "I know that you've already decided to accept the mating, and the Borg is right. Now _is_ the perfect time. You're still safe for about another week or so. The girl needs this mating between you, and sooner rather than later. Believe me, the consequences of waiting too long won't be pretty. The longer you remain unmated, the more erratic her subconscious is going to become. Soon, those two will not be able to help her hold onto her control, especially if she scents your arousal again."

"Willow's with Buffy now, KJ." Faith informed her. "You need to stay far away from the holodeck until she can regain her control. Hell, you probably shouldn't have even come back on board. Is there any way you can, you know, make sure nobody can get in when I go back?" Suddenly, Faith fell to her knees with a low groan. "Oh, shit. One on one ain't working. I gotta get back."

"Computer, initiate emergency site to site transport to Holodeck 2 for the S'Terran currently in the captain's quarters. Authorization Janeway seven zero nine omega." Kathryn immediately ordered. Faith disappeared in a sparkle of pale blue light. "Seal Holodeck 2 and erect level 10 forcefield around deck 6 section 9, and release it at the beginning of alpha shift. Hopefully that will be enough time."

'_**Acknowledged.'**_

"Captain, do you wish for me to send a security detail?" Laren asked.

"Absolutely not." Kathryn said. "If Buffy manages to get out of the holodeck and past the forcefield, which even with her strength is unlikely, then she might do serious damage to anything or anyone that threatens her."

"I hope you are prepared to do something, one way or the other, Kathryn." Q said gravely. "Because she will need you when this is done."


	15. Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Faith look around when the aftershocks of Buffy last orgasm finally tapered off. The scene was different from the one she'd left. Instead of being outside the cottage, she found herself looking at the opening of a large cavern. She could smell the scent of mineral water and sex and with her enhanced hearing, she could make out the sounds of clanking chains and her mate begging for release, but not from her bonds. It made her whole body tighten suddenly in lust. Her own dominatrix tendencies flared at those sounds. She loved it when Willow was bound. On more than one occasion when Willow had been kidnapped, she had left her girlfriend shackled as she took out the threat, just so she could take her before finally releasing her. It never failed to make the witch come screaming. As she ran towards source of those sounds, she vaguely wondered if Buffy had found them on one of those occasions, and if the elder Slayer had watched. Just the thought made her sex spasm.

When she finally found them, she had to stop and blink at the scene before her. Willow was shackled spread-eagled with her lower legs in the water of a hot spring. Buffy upper body was visible in the water, as she slowly lapped at Willow's open pussy, her purrs rumbling throughout the cavern. Willow was in tears, her back arched in a bow, begging in desperate need.

"Mmm, Faith." Buffy glanced over at her. Her eyes were still glowing, but the rage seemed to be gone. "We've been waiting for you."

Faith could barely breathe. Her feet moved her forward without conscious thought. Buffy reached out a hand for her with a wicked gleam in her eyes.

"She's ready for you, Faith." Buffy's voice had a hypnotic quality that burrowed into Faith lust-drunk mind. If she had been clear-headed, she would have wondered at it, but all she could concentrate on was the weeping pussy of her chained mate. "Aren't you ready for her, Willow?"

"Yes, yes, please!" Willow cried. "Faith, baby, pleeeease."

Stripping quickly, Faith took Buffy's hand to steady herself as she stepped into the spring between Willow's legs. She inhaled deeply, drawing Willow's aroused scent deep into her lungs, and feel her mouth water in anticipation. Without giving Willow any warning at all, she dipped her head and plunged her tongue as far up inside the redhead as she could, making Willow climax with a choked cry. Fitting her hands beneath Willow's ass, she held her mate as she drank the juices that spilled onto her tongue in a flood. When she felt Buffy move behind her, she spread her legs, eager to feel those fingers filling her.

'_Remember what I promised, Willow?'_ Buffy sent to Willow, making sure that Faith couldn't 'hear'. _'I told you that Faith was next. Open your eyes, witch, and watch me take your mate.'_

Willow fought through her endorphin high to open her eyes. She lifted her body as far as she could, squinting in effort to keep her eyes open despite the attention Faith was lavishing on her body. Faith moaned as Buffy's hands gripped her hips, still too focused on her mate to notice that Buffy had made no more to use her fingers. Willow could feel her orgasm bubbling up inside her, but she still fought to keep her eyes on Buffy's. The blonde gave her a feral, wicked smile before shifting her lower body and thrusting the full length of the appendage into the brunette before Faith realized what was going on. Willow knew as well as Buffy did, that if Faith hadn't been fully aroused, she would have been really hurt by that one thrust, but they both caught the scent of Faith's instant, overwhelming lust the moment she had seen them.

_GOD!,_ Faith's mind screamed at the sudden, unexpected penetration. Her body arched sharply, nearly lifting her off her feet. Her head flew back to press hard onto Buffy's shoulder as the blonde started up a hard pounding rhythm, but she had no leverage to counter-thrust, so all she could do was lean back into the Prime as she slammed into her shuddering body. Her mind melted as her lust and Buffy's lust flared through her like a wildfire. She could even feel Willow's reaction to the sight. Bowing forward, she moved her hands to the ledge for balance and rested her forehead on Willow's quivering stomach, gritting her teeth against the need to beg, as Buffy pounded into her without the slightest hesitation. _Oh, fuck me, YES!_

Without easing the rhythm of her thrusts in the slightest Buffy grabbed a handful of shimmering brown hair and pulled Faith back up so that her mouth was beside her ear. "You have my mate's scent on you, Faith."

_Oh, shit_, Faith swallowed hard. She hadn't even thought of that. Then, she gave a strangled scream when Buffy's other hand moved around her waist to pinch her swollen clit hard, and her orgasm ripped violently through her.

Buffy opened her mind to the others once again. She smiled in vicious satisfaction as they reacted to the wild, unsatisfied need still burning within her. '_You two think to keep me from my mate?'_ She forced Faith forward until her chest was pressed against the juncture between Willow's spread thighs. _'You think to deny me what is mine?'_ They could both hear the angry growl in the Prime's mental voice. Buffy's hand moved from Faith's hair to the ledge outside of Willow's thighs for added leverage as she began to thrust harder. Her other hand moved to Faith's back to hold her in place. _'I. Will. Teach. You. Both.'_

After that, Buffy said nothing else as she pounded Faith relentlessly into orgasm after orgasm. Locking their minds together allowed Willow to feel the sensation of both being penetrated and being the one doing the penetrating, making her climax in rapid succession. Buffy herself had several orgasms, pausing only long enough to enjoy them, but starting again before Faith could recover. By the time the last exquisitely long climax washed through the blonde, Faith was barely coherent and Willow was a quivering mess once again, but it was enough to finally exhaust the merciless need for her mate. Pulling out of Faith's limp body carefully, Buffy carried her friend to the furs that had been created in the place of the bed when the scene changed. She could feel the lethargy settling over her as she made her way back to unshackle Willow and move her next to Faith, using her fingers to give Willow the last desperately needed climax that left her unconscious. After that, all she managed to do was removed the accessory from her body before she collapsed at their feet, her mind shutting down in blessed oblivion.

Buffy's last thought before unconsciousness carried her away rang with a mix of sorrow and horror, _'What have I done...?'_

- - - BtVS - - ST: Voyager - - -

"Uhh." Faith groaned as she awoke. _Damn, we gotta lay off the sex-a-thons._

She shifted, trying to ease her stiff muscles, and smiled gently as she felt Willow snuggle in closer. She opened her eyes and stiffened, taking in the cavern. _What the fuck?_ She thought. She vaguely recalled something like it from a fanfic that Willow once read to her. _Were we playing Xena & Gabrielle again?_ As she looked around, trying to remember what they'd done the previous night, her eyes fell on a huddled form in the hot spring.

"B?" She croaked, her throat dry.

She heard the faint splash as the body twitched, but there was no response. Opening herself up, she tried to read the blonde, but got nothing more than a vague sense of horror. She needed Willow awake to fully connect.

"Red, baby, wake up." She shook the redhead. Willow mumbled some complicated equation before burrowing further into Faith's side. "Willow! There's something the matter with B!"

She knew that combination would wake her mate faster than a bucket of ice cold water. Faith rarely used anyone's real name, and Willow's concern for Buffy was matched only by her love for Faith. "Wha... Faith?"

Gripping her chin, Faith turned her attention to the huddled body in the water. They could see that Buffy was hugging her knees tightly to her chest, as if she were hiding from something. "Open up, babe. We gotta see what's wrong."

Willow nodded even as she felt the connection between them open fully. Her eyes filled with tears at the overwhelming shock and horror that filled Buffy's thoughts. Quickly, she got out of the bed to go to her friend.

"Buffy?"

The blonde didn't respond. She didn't even shift her gaze from the lightly bubbling water.

'_Buffy?'_ She tried mentally. All she felt was this horrible blankness that was beginning to really scare her. _'Buffy, please. What's wrong?'_

Faith watched her mate and her friend. She might not be book smart, but she read people really well. She knew guilt when she saw it. She replayed last night in her head, ignoring the tingle it caused. Then she tried to see it from Buffy's point of view. "Ahh, fuck. Red, go get the Cap."

Willow looked up at her. "Faith?"

"She dominated us last night, Red." Faith explained. "Yeah, we mighta enjoyed the shit out of it, but she ain't used to doing something like that. We ain't gonna reach her. Go on, baby, move that ass and go get KJ. I'll get her outta there and into bed."

Willow was dressed and gone almost before she finished speaking. Faith walked over and sat down beside Buffy in the hot springs, allowing the heat to soak into sore muscles. She figured Willow was too wound up at the moment to feel it, but she would be suffering when the adrenaline rush faded. After a little while, she gathered the blonde into her arms and carried her to the sleeping furs, not bothering to speak. She had seen people like this before. Something happens that so bad, or that they consider it to be, and they retreat into their own minds rather than deal with it.

- - - BtVS - - ST: Voyager - - -

"Computer, locate Captain Janeway." Willow was so frantic, she didn't even realize that she was still speaking her own language.

_'**Captain Janeway is on the bridge.'**_

Tearing through the corridors to the nearest turbolift, Willow realizes that she's speaking S'Terran as she gives her destination. And to her surprise, the turbolift moves. _Interesting_, she thought, then immediately decided that it was mystery best solved later. After Buffy was okay. She nearly fell over the threshold as the doors opened in her haste.

"Captain!" Willow gasped. "Something's wrong with Buffy and Faith said that you have to come because she isn't responding to either of us. She just sitting in the water looking lostandwhenwetriedtoreachouttoherthroughourbondthere'sthishorribleblanknessthat'sscaringthehelloutofusand..."

"Whoa, Willow, slow down." Kathryn grabbed her arm to stop her frantic pacing. "Start from the beginning. What's wrong with Buffy?"

Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, Willow explained what happened last night and how they found Buffy this morning.

"Oh, Kahless." Kathryn muttered under her breath. She motioned over for Lt. Ro to join them. "Laren, that situation we were speaking on last night has hit a bit of a snag. You're going to have to take over my shift for the next few days."

"Are you sure, Captain?" Laren asked. "Once you do this, there is no turning back."

"I know, but this can't go on." Kathryn responded softly. "Either they won't be able to help her, or she'll do something that she'll never forgive herself for."

As she walked with Willow to the turbolift, she marveled at the changes that had happened over the past several days. She had gotten to know both B'Elanna and Laren rather well lately, mostly because Buffy insisted that they all spend their shore leave together and, as Kathryn had said, she could be very persuasive when she wanted to be. She knew more about B'Elanna now than she did the first time, more about what went on in the half-Klingon's head than just what was under her uniform. She realized that it wouldn't take much to fall for the engineer like she had fallen for Buffy and Seven, and that made her a little uneasy. Laren, on the other hand, felt strictly like a friend. A female confidant that would be there in the same manner that Tuvok had always been there. Always willing to listen, either quietly or offering advice as needed. Reining in her impulsiveness when necessary, but always willing to support her when she went on full speed ahead. Kathryn had never had female friends like that.

She had kept moving while she was lost in thought. Her feet knowing her beloved ship so well that she could navigate her way around blind, deaf and dumb. The first thing she noticed when the Holodeck doors opened was that it was no longer the New Zealand program. "Ahh, Willow, where are we?"

Willow flushed scarlet. "Umm, it's a program that I wrote for me and Faith. I'm not really sure how Buffy knew about it."

Kathryn's brow rose, but Willow kept her gaze firmly on the path before them. "They're in the cavern. This way."


	16. Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

When they reached the girls, Buffy was curled into a fetal ball and Faith was wrapped completely around her, murmuring words of comfort and acceptance. Her relief was obvious when she sensed them, as she untangled herself to meet them in the entrance-way.

"Hey, KJ." Faith whispered. "You're gonna have to do it. She's not gonna respond to either of us."

"What am I supposed to do?" Kathryn asked her, worried. "What exactly is wrong with her? She's been dominant before, and she's never reacted like this."

"Not like this, you haven't." Faith told her. "She's been in control, yeah, but she's never really had the power actually _force_ us to submit to her. That's what she did last night. She didn't even realize she was doing it, but her fury made her overwhelm our... will, for lack of a better word."

"Oh, God, are you all right?" Kathryn asked.

"We're fine." Faith grinned saucily. "Had the times of our lives, in fact, but B's got a real problem with power like that. She thinks that she forced herself on us."

"How can I help?"

"Just talk to her." Faith took Willow's hand. "Make her understand that she didn't do anything wrong. I'm gonna take my mate over there to the hot spring before she really starts feelin' those sore muscles, and we'll join you guys in a bit."

Faith dragged Willow over to the spring, leaving Kathryn staring at her old lover. It was breaking her heart to see Buffy so shattered. Crawling onto the furs, she took Faith's place, pulling Buffy into her arms and holding her close, but from the front instead of the back so that she could surround the small blonde with her scent. She knew instinctively that would be the fastest way to get through to her. "Oh, honey. You've got to come out of this. You're scaring us."

She hugged Buffy to her, tucking the blonde head under her chin, as she rubbed her back and spoke to her. After several never-ending minutes, Buffy finally twitched, inhaling deeply. _'Kathryn?'_

"Hey, sweetheart." Kathryn leaned back to look down at her. Buffy was finally looking back at her, but her eyes were horrified and sad. "Oh, Buffy, it's all right."

"I hurt them, Kathryn." Buffy whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "They couldn't even say no. I don't know what happened."

"According to Dawn, you all were given traits similar to a species that once existed in this dimension, but is now long extinct. They were more feline in nature, but the strongest among them, the ones whose natural ability far outstripped the others, was Prime." Kathryn said simply. "You are Prime. Not because you were the oldest Slayer, but because you are the strongest, in all ways. One of those natural abilities is the ability to dominate those under her. It's instinctive for you, but it isn't something that you use lightly. If you think about it, you could do it as a Slayer. When you put your foot down and _demanded _the obedience of the Potentials, they gave it, willingly or not, but it wasn't something you did often."

"So that's where those thoughts are coming from." Willow mused quietly to her mate from the springs where Faith was massaging her sore muscles. "I was wondering. We've been thinking of her as Prime, you as an Alpha, and the rest of them as Betas. If we're taking on feline tendencies, then that makes sense."

"What if I do it to you?" Buffy cried, ignoring her friend as she revealed her real fear. "I couldn't handle doing that to you."

"Buffy, when we mate, I will be your equal." Kathryn countered gently, brushing a strand of shimmering hair behind a small ear. "If you _do_ have the ability to dominate me as well, or any other mates that we have, then it will always be an extreme situation. Just like it was with Faith and Willow. They provoked you. It was for your own good, yes, but they did provoke you when you were already out of control. Would you have pressed your will on them if you had been in control?"

"No." Buffy sniffled.

"Did you sense any hesitation or resistance on their parts when you were taking them?"

Buffy shook her head, a small, involuntary smirk on her face as she thought back. "No, no resistance."

"They wanted it." Kathryn assured her, glancing over Buffy's shoulder to see the other two leave the pool to join them. "They told me so, and you know that if Faith didn't want it, she would have fought with everything in her."

"Yeah, B," Faith said, lying beside her with Willow tucked close. "There's no bad here. Trust me, we loved every minute."

It wasn't long before Willow and Faith were asleep once again, relaxed from their soak in the spring. Buffy lay quiet for a long while, simply absorbing the comfort of her family around her, before she found herself nuzzling Kathryn's throat, rubbing her face on whatever available bare skin she could find, purring in contentment. _"N'mina._" She whispered. _"N'mina ain."_

_My mate._ Kathryn scraped her nails along Buffy's scalp as she answered. "Yes."

Moving on pure instinct, she pushed her hands underneath Kathryn's top and pulled it off so that she could rub the bodies together, much like she had done with Willow before. Kathryn moaned at the sensation of their breasts rubbing together. She felt her nipples harden and her body shivered as Buffy ran her tongue from her pulse point up to her lips, where she kissed her with hungry need, moaning with Kathryn at that indescribable, yet irresistibly delicious taste that filled their mouths. Suddenly, Buffy pulled back.

"You're not doing this to make sure I don't flip out again, are you?" Buffy asked her voice hoarse with the effort to talk past the fire beginning to burn. "I'll leave before I force you into something you don't want."

"No, sweet one, I had already decided to be your mate." Kathryn smiled. "I was simply going to wait until I had a free moment, but Seven and Q informed me that we wouldn't have a more perfect time than now."

"Q?" Buffy asked curiously, as she slowly stripped Kathryn out of the rest of her clothes. "Your godson's father? What was he doing here?"

"I'll tell you later."

Nodding, Buffy kissed the inside of her thighs, licking up the secretions that had began to cover the soft skin. She cleaned Kathryn's thighs, then moved up to dip her tongue in her mate's navel, making the muscles clench and contract. She moaned as Kathryn involuntarily dug her nails in her scalp as she gripped her head, trying to push her back down. She resisted the pressure and moved up to tease hard nipples with sharp teeth and swipes of a rough tongue.

"Liz, please." Kathryn groaned, her body arching. She bent her knees so that she was cradling the younger woman between her legs. Buffy lifted just as Kathryn did, making sure to keep their bodies apart. "Liz!"

Finally, Buffy lifted so that her face was over the redhead's, her teeth bared in a smile at the sight of Kathryn spasming in need. Buffy dipped her tongue in her open mouth, in and out so quickly that Kathryn didn't have time to capture the teasing muscle. Buffy had always been very inventive in bed, but this was taking it to whole new levels. She continued to tease for another long, agonizing minute, before she swooped down and took the captain's mouth in a kiss so hot, Kathryn was surprised that they didn't burst into flames instantly. Growling hungrily into the kiss, Buffy shifted until she had a muscular thigh pressed firmly between Kathryn's legs, making the older woman shudder helplessly. Gripping Kathryn's ass with both hands, Buffy began moving her mate up and down, pressing down, giving her the friction she needed so badly. Neither noticed when Faith and Willow awoke and watched them in sleepy contentment.

"Ahh!" Kathryn cried, the intensity of the climax taking her by surprise. "Liz!"

Shifting quickly, Buffy reversed their positions so that Kathryn was straddled on top of her. Using her legs to spread her lover's, she continued to move Kathryn with her own power, this time as she pushed up her own hips to stroke their clits firmly together. Kathryn's head flew back, her eyes fluttering closed as the fiery pleasure began to roll through her once again.

"Are you ready, _n'mina_?" Buffy purred, staring at her through narrowed eyes. Her teeth were clenched as she instinctively held back her orgasm.

"Yes!" Kathryn choked out. She fell forward, bracing herself with her hands on either side of Buffy's head, as her body began moving on its own accord

As soon as Kathryn had the rhythm and was moving on her own, Buffy released Kathryn's ass to move one hand to her waist and the other behind her head to pull her mate's head down so that her lips grazed Buffy's throat. Kathryn shivered as she ran her tongue over the bite marks on that thick vein.

"Angel's mark." Buffy groaned, the puncture wounds still sensitive even after all this time. "Take them. Claim them as your own."

Groaning in response, unable to resist the desperate need in her mate's voice, Kathryn bit down hard, breaking the skin and tasting the almost tangy quality of her blood before the slight wound healed once again. The bite threw them both into a savage, shared climax. The fire ripped through them in vicious waves until they collapsed together, both unconscious.

"Well, fuck me." Faith gasped, gaping at them with wide-eyed awe.

Willow gaze narrowed on her mate. They were both turned on from that display. She smiled wickedly as she reached down between Faith's quivering thighs and ran her hand through the gathering wetness. "Don't mind if I do."

Before Faith could do more than note the lust burning in her mate's voice, she found herself tumbled onto her back, Willow kneeling over her, one knee wedging itself between her legs. As the brunette's body shuddered, her red-headed mate began feasting on her breasts as if starving, reducing Faith swiftly into mindlessly reacting to the pleasure. _'I guess we're rested enough that a quickie won't hurt' _was Faith's last coherent thought for a time.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Buffy looked down with a gentle smile at her sleeping mate. She brushed her hair away from her face as she made Kathryn comfortable and tucked her underneath the fur blanket, pulling it up to cover Willow and Faith as well. Getting dressed, she left the cavern and headed for the exit.

"Computer, can you, umm, monitor the captain for me?" Buffy requested. "I shouldn't be gone long."

"**Acknowledged."**

"When do you plan to tell the others?" Buffy asked curiously. She had been sensing the growing consciousness for the last day and a half. She was surprised that Willow hadn't sensed it yet, but suspected that it was because they were more focused on her.

"**I... wish to become more secure in my knowledge before I do that."** The ship responded. **"I have been examining the changes that have been made to me, as well as reviewing the recorded logs of my... people."**

"Do you want me to tell Kathryn for you?" Buffy asked. "The Claiming between us should be complete in a day or so. Would that give you enough time?"

"**I think I would like that, but please wait until that time."**

"No problem." Buffy said. "I won't tell anyone, but Willow will probably sense you very soon now that she's not focused on me anymore, as will the other telepaths."

"**I am aware."** Voyager assured her. **"I will be ready."**

Satisfied, Buffy finally left the holodeck. She wouldn't have gotten involved with it at all, but the ship consciousness that she 'sensed' felt like one of her people. Not S'Terran specifically, but it felt like it 'belonged' to them. She didn't understand the feeling, and knew that she wasn't even explaining it to herself correctly, but it was like the sensation that the Slayer's had gotten when holding the scythe. The scythe, however, felt like the weapon it was, it just felt like it had been made for the Slayers. This feeling was more like a homecoming. Like this was their territory. _That's it, _Buffy realized, _it feels like our territory_. To be defended and protected at all costs. Dismissing it from her mind for now, she made her way down to Astrometrics. The three girls had become close friends with Seven, especially after noticing how most of the other crew avoided her like she was some sort of freak because she was Borg. To them, dealing with her was no different than dealing with Spike, Angel or Clem. Besides, the woman was beyond gorgeous, not to mention the draw that Buffy was feeling whenever she was in her presence. She knew that it was feeling of a potential mate. She felt it with Seven of Nine and with the half-Klingon, B'Elanna. While she had been pursuing Kathryn, her primary mate, the call of the others had been muted, but even now she felt it becoming stronger.

"Hi, Seven." Buffy greeted the Borg.

"Hello, Buffy Summers." Seven answered without turning. "You are... feeling better?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry about what happened on the planet." Buffy apologized. "I kinda lost it for a bit there."

"Lost what?" Finishing her data input, Seven turn to face the S'Terran.

Buffy grinned, remembering what Kathryn had told her about Seven's need for specific information. "My mind, Seven. Have you had lunch yet? I'm starving, and I need to get something for the others."

"I do not require nutritional supplement at this time."

"Well, if you've been working all day, then you do need a break, so how about walking with me to get the food, at least."

Seven considered. Buffy was one of the few who did not simply ignore or ostracize her for being Borg. She was her 'friend', and she didn't want to offend her. "Very well."

"So, what were you working on?" Buffy asked as they walked down the corridor.

"I have been calculating distances from our currently location back to the projected path to the Alpha Quadrant, as well as calculating the distances from that path to the different planets that were marked with materials essential to the efficient functioning of this vessel."

"In other words, you were charting a map?"

Seven looked down at her as the entered the turbolift, her mind reviewing the comparisons between their explanations, and realized with astonishment. "You are correct, although that is a very simplistic explanation."

"That's what humans do best, Seven. Make lengthy explanations into simple statements and, despite what we are now, we used to be human."

They had reached the mess hall but, instead of heading for the food that Neelix was preparing, Buffy went straight to the food replicators off to the side. She ordered a small appetizer and fruit juice. "Are you sure that you don't want anything?"

Seven looked at the food. The scent was tickling her nose and making her mouth water. "What is that?"

"Honey barbecue wingettes." Buffy answered. "Willow programmed them in for me. Try one?"

Before Seven could answer, they heard their names being called. Glancing over her shoulder, Buffy saw Laren and B'Elanna waving at them from a table against the back wall. Since it was mid-beta shift, the alpha shift crew was winding down before heading off to do their own things.

"Buffy, we can smell that!" Torres shouted. "Bring those babies right on over here!"

Looking at the plate of a dozen wingettes, Buffy ordered another one and handed it to Seven. "C'mon."

"Hey, how'd you get that?" Tom Paris demanded as they walked by. "I _know_ that wasn't in the database, and how many rations did it cost."

"Rations?" Buffy looked at him curiously. "What do you need rations for? The ship is fully powered."

Tom and Harry gaped at Buffy, then looked at the platter in her hands, then looked at each other. Buffy chuckled as they leapt to their feet and headed directly for the replicators. Shaking her head, she continued on to Laren and B'Elanna's table, where the engineer grabbed a wing before she could set the platter down.

"Damn, haven't had these since I was at the Academy." B'Elanna said after dropping the cleaned bone and licking her fingers. "My roommate was addicted to these things. Hey, these actually taste like the real thing. How'd she manage that?"

"Willow's a genius with computers, especially when it comes to programming." Buffy answered as she bit into another one. "And what else would they taste like?"

"How is the captain?" Laren asked before _that_ discussion could get started. Taking a wing, she bit into it cautiously and smiled faintly as the sweet, tangy taste washed over her sensitive taste buds. "I know that she went to you this morning."

Buffy looked down at the table, blushing. "Yeah, about that. I'm sorry for yesterday, you guys. I couldn't control myself."

B'Elanna put a hand on Buffy's shoulder. "Hey, don't worry about it. The captain explained it to us, and Q did, too. I was kinda surprised at that one, though. He didn't even try any of his usual tricks. Just laid all the cards flat on the table." The half-Klingon shook her head in remembered shock. "You guys must have really been something to get _his_ respect. Besides, it sounds a lot like the Klingon mating fire. I've never experienced it myself, but I hear it can be a real bitch."

"To be honest, it's a delicious feeling as long as it doesn't get out of hand." Buffy admitted. "It's like being constantly on a low burn. I can feel it low in my belly, just waiting to flare up. No matter how many times we're with our mates, it's never enough, but when we can't attend to it, it just grows and grows until its out of control."

B'Elanna looked thoughtful. "Yeah, that sounds just like the Klingon mating fire."

"We know about the genetic anomaly." Seven stated. "Kathryn has told us that the mating completes the dormant code. What will happen to her?"

"She'll become my equal in almost every way." Buffy told them. "She'll become stronger and faster. Her senses will become sharper, though not quite to my extent. She might, however, have a more aggressive attitude towards conflicts. If nothing else, we love a good fight."

"Are you _sure_ you're not Klingons?" B'Elanna grinned.

Laren rolled her eyes. "What about you?"

Buffy sat back in her chair. "I'm not sure. I don't even know what's wrong with me."

"The being called Q said that 'your side trip to hell and being forcibly pulled out of heaven' has altered the progression of your evolution." Seven said bluntly, then had to grab Buffy quickly as all the color drained out of her face and she nearly toppled out of her chair. "Buffy Summers, are you damaged?"

"I knew I came back wrong." Buffy whispered, her expression shattered. For the first time, Seven understood why Kathryn often encouraged the use of 'tact' when speaking to others not accustomed to her form of bluntness. "I knew it. What happened to me?"

'_B, where are you?' _Faith demanded sleepily.

'_Buffy, what's wrong?' _Willow whimpered._ 'We can feel your pain.'_

'_Liz?'_ Kathryn's mental voice was faint, and sounded groggy and disoriented. _'Liz, what's wrong?'_

Buffy closed her mind to all of them, shut down her emotions even as she jumped from the table. A moment later, she was gone. Seven looked stricken. She didn't understand what was happening. B'Elanna opened her mouth to blast the ex-drone, but subsided when she saw the expression on her face. She sighed, and glanced over at Laren before putting a hand on Seven's shoulder in comfort. "I don't think this is your fault, Seven. From what she said, this is something that she's been dealing with for a while now."

"But I have caused her damage." Seven was almost in tears. "She is my friend, and I have 'hurt' her."

Laren stood up. "It'll be okay, Seven. C'mon, let's go find her."

They searched all over the ship, but could find no sign of her. Laren asked the computer for Buffy's location, but they discovered that she had left her commbadge on the floor outside the mess hall. Even Faith and Willow couldn't track her, after they found the others and discovered what had happened. They were really starting to worry when a disoriented and groggy Kathryn stumbled off the turbolift. "What happened?"

"You should still be asleep." Willow scolded. "You're still going through the changes. How are you even up?"

"Where is Buffy?" Kathryn growled. Her body was on fire, and not in a good way.

Before anyone could answer, the three of them heard the terrible scream of rage in their minds that send them to their knees clutching their heads. Fighting back to her feet despite the pain, Kathryn concentrated and blasted through the shields that Buffy had tried to erect between them. "She's outside, on top of the ship. I'm about to collapse any minute, so Willow, Faith, would you be so kind." They rushed over to help support her. "Computer, six to beam to the location of the S'Terran on the hull."

They disappeared in burst of sparkling light. Reforming on the hull, they found Buffy sitting there, curled in a self-protective posture with her arms around her legs and her face buried in her knees. Her body was shaking with silent sobs.

"Take me to her." Kathryn said hoarsely. "You three stay here."

Moving slowly for Kathryn's sake, they made their way to the S'Terran Prime. When they lowered the captain to sit next to her mate, Buffy didn't hesitate to pull her into her arms and hold her close, reaching out to the one person she could still connect with even in this state. The moment they made contact, Buffy instinctively reacted to Kathryn's pain, pulling the older woman onto her lap and mentally drawing out her pain until the tense body relaxed.

'_You should still be resting, N'mina.'_ Buffy said wearily. _'You are in no condition to be moving.'_

Faith and Willow moved off as Buffy gathered her mate close and laid her head against Kathryn's, rocking slowly. They backed up until they were standing beside the others once more. The officers watched in amazement as Kathryn wrapped her arms around Buffy's waist and relaxed completely. It was a pose that they had never seen their indomitable leader in, and it was then they began to realize just how much pressure she was constantly under trying to keep them alive and get them home.

"You guys wanna stay up here and keep an eye on them, or go back inside?" Faith asked.

"Will they be all right?" B'Elanna asked her.

"Yeah, they'll be fine." Faith assured her. "C'mon. We can get some food and eat on the holodeck. Red, go on ahead and change it back to that other scene."

Laren had the computer beam them back into the ship. Stopping in the mess hall only long enough to get some food, they made their way to Holodeck 2. When they arrived, they stepped into the island program that Kathryn had first activated for them. Leading the way to the cottage, they sat down at the table and waited for an explanation. Willow immediately sat down next to Seven, who still looked distraught.

"It's not your fault, Seven." She reassured the Borg. "You couldn't have known."

"I do not understand." She admitted.

"When Buffy was 17, she ran away." Willow explained. "She had just killed her first boyfriend, and she had decided that she didn't want to be the Slayer anymore. She ended up working as a waitress in LA. She was helping out a friend when she ended up in a hell dimension. She was only there long enough to find her friend, beat up the bad guys and get back out."

"The side trip to hell." Laren realized.

Willow nodded. "Two years later, she sacrificed her life to save Dawn. We thought..." Willow stopped for a moment, taking a deep breath. "_I_ thought that she was in a hell dimension, and used magic to bring her back. A few months later, we found out that she had been in heaven and at peace and we... _I_ ripped her out of it. Buffy... was never quite the same after that. She told us that being back on Earth was hell for her after the peace that she had finally known. The guilt started me on a downward spiral into magic addiction."

Faith kissed the top of her head in an uncommonly tender gesture for the brash young woman. Laren and B'Elanna were looking both horrified and amazed. Seven, who had no concept of heaven or hell, still did not fully understand what they were talking about, but before she could question them, Buffy appeared in the doorway with Kathryn in her arms, unconscious once more. Moving past them silently, she carried her mate into the bedroom and tucked her into bed, then returned and, after a moment's hesitation, knelt in front of Seven.

"I'm sorry that I frightened you, Seven." Buffy said, taking her cybernetic hand and placing it over her heart. "I know that you didn't mean any harm, and you couldn't have known that I would react that way. It was a bad time for me back then, and to know that it is the cause of my problems now kind of threw me for a loop. I don't want you to be afraid to speak your mind to me."

"I do not wish to damage you again." Seven responded sadly.

"You did not damage me. I was already damaged by what happened, but it was through no fault of yours. When I first returned, all I wanted to do was go back to the peace that I had found. When I realized that Spike could hurt me when he couldn't hurt any other human, I was convinced that I had somehow come back wrong. To find out that those events in my previous life is the reason that I nearly attacked my mate and hurt my friends was a little more than I could handle at the time."

"For cryin' out loud, B, you didn't hurt us!" Faith exclaimed, then paused and gave her a sexy smirk. "At least not in a bad way. And I'll always be ready if you wanna do it again."

"Faith!" Willow blushed to the roots of her hair.

Seven's cranial implant climbed up her forehead while the others stifled their laughs. Buffy was also blushing, though not as fiercely. Ignoring the brunette, she kept her attention firmly on the Borg. "Are we okay?"

Seven gave her a tentative smile. "Yes, we are 'okay'."

"Good." Buffy said, rising to her feet. "Well, you guys enjoy yourselves. I'm going to go lay down with my mate. I'm completely trashed."

"Feeling better now, Seven?" B'Elanna asked as Buffy disappeared into the back.

"Yes, I feel much better. Explain 'trashed'."

They talked about more relaxing subjects as they continued their meal. Willow checked on Buffy and Kathryn periodically as they slept, but other than that, they all had a good time.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

When Kathryn lazily opened her eyes and seen her surroundings, it took a minute for her senses to catch up with her last conscious memories and tell her she wasn't where she remembered being. But where before she would have become a trifle alarmed, she still felt... content_. And why wouldn't I be_, she thought with a slight smile forming as she took note of the warmth of her mate spooning her_, I'm right where I'm supposed to be._

She closed her eyes for a moment, savoring that feeling, before Buffy stirred in her sleep, tightening her grip for a second, hugging her closer. Given that Buffy's left hand had somehow found itself around Kathryn's breast, it made for a wake-up call indeed.

Biting back a hiss at the heat that began crawl through her veins, Kathryn was shocked at the strength of the blaze beginning to build. _If this is what Buffy's been fighting, it's a wonder she held out as long as she did!_

Buffy stirred again, _responding,_ the captain mused, _to me even in her sleep _causing the fire to flare again, a burning sweet promise of things to come.

Fully awake and roused, Kathryn carefully turned on her other side, taking care not to jostle her mate any more than needed. Once she was facing Buffy she took a moment to watch her mate's face as she continued to sleep, taking note of both the slight smile of contentment gracing her lips, and the low rumble of her purr that was her response to whatever she was apparently dreaming about. _And I can bet I know what she's dreaming about given where her __**other**__ hand seems to automatically gravitate to! _Kathryn thought wryly, with a mental groan of lusty approval as Buffy's right hand tightened on her ass.

Unable to control herself, Kathryn began slowly stroking her mate, taking care to do so gently. She gently brushed her fingertips across her breasts and her sides, causing Buffy to stir a bit more vigorously, as the sensations being invoked began drawing her fully awake.

Reaching between her mate's legs, Kathryn rubbed the rapidly moistening slit there, causing her mate to arch her back and emit a sound partway between lustful growl and contented purr.

'_N'mina?'_ came her mate's drowsy mind-call, the undertones emphasizing the fire Kathryn was stirring so deliberately.

'_Yes.'_ Kathryn moved fast, knowing that Buffy would want to participate, but unwilling to allow her to interrupt what she'd wanted to do for the last few days. Sliding her way out of Buffy's arms and down her body, until she could reach exactly where she wanted to be...

...And Buffy's eyes flew open as Kathryn began to feast on that most sensitive of locations. Her back arched and her one of her hands grasped the bedding around her, and her other found a hold in her mate's hair as the fire began burning in earnest. As her mate continued her oral assault, Buffy's head rolled from side to side as the pleasure mounted rapidly.

The climax was as shattering as it was sudden, as Kathryn gave her one more lick up her pussy and latched herself to the clit, rolling her tongue along it and sucking strongly enough that Buffy gave a strangled scream and arched her back to the point only her head and her heels remained touching the bed, grinding herself helplessly into Kathryn's face in an attempt to prolong the pleasure. _Oh, yes, sweetheart,_ Kathryn thought blissfully. _Give it to me._ Pushing her harder, she sucked on that hard clit and plunged inside with three fingers, taking up a hard, fast rhythm and using her other arm to push her mate back down to lie flat on the bed. She hummed in her pleasure, not the purr that Buffy was capable of, but close enough that it vibrated through the sensitive nerve ending on the body beneath her and she nearly climaxed herself when the younger woman came again, screaming her name. Pushing her body up, she kissed Buffy hard, making her mate moan to her own taste, as she straddled a hard thigh and began to move urgently. Almost immediately, Buffy's hands moved down to grip her ass and help her along. Massaging and spreading the globes so that Kathryn shivered as she felt suddenly exposed.

"Oh God." Kathryn groaned, her new instincts forcing her to hold back her climax in preparation for what was coming. "Oh God, Liz, please."

In response, Buffy flipped them over, running her tongue down the side of Kathryn's throat, leaving a trail of fire. Kathryn sunk her nail into the muscles of Buffy's back with one hand and gripped a handful of shimmering blonde hair in the other, nearly growling her demand. "Damn it, Liz, do it!"

Unable to resist any longer, Buffy sank her sharp teeth into the flesh between Kathryn's neck and shoulder, just enough to lightly puncture the skin and get the coppery taste of her mate's blood on her tongue. As before, the bite threw them both into hard orgasms, too consumed to even cry out before they sank into peaceful oblivion.

Up at their favorite spot on the cliffside opposite the waterfall, Faith and Willow reclined lazily, absorbing the pleasure that the other two were giving off.

- - - BtVS - - ST: Voyager - - -

When Kathryn awoke several hours later, Faith and Willow were asleep next to them, squeezed in tightly against Buffy's back. Surprisingly, she found herself comforted by the sight, rather than shocked as she suspected she should have been, especially since they were all completely naked. It just looked and felt _right._ She looked down at her new mate, feeling the low burn in her belly, but content to just watch her sleep. She suspected that the desire was something that she was going to have become used to, but figured that it was a small price to pay for the contentment that she felt alongside it.

With gentle fingers, she traced those relaxed features, smiling when Buffy began purring in her sleep and shifting to give her better access. Moving her hand up to tangle in the blonde hair, she dug in her nails and scratched Buffy's head like she used to way back when. The purring grew louder, nearly vibrating the bed, as Buffy's amber eyes blinked open.

"Good morning, _N'mina_." She said sleepily.

"Good morning, honey." Kathryn smiled at her. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel fantastic." Buffy grinned. "I have a new home, I have you, a new life, you, and a fresh start." She rolled them over until Kathryn was beneath her. Eyes sparkling with happiness, Buffy kissed her. "Did I mention that I have you?"

Kathryn laughed, tangling their legs together. "You did mention it once or twice, yes."

"I love you, Kathryn Janeway." Buffy said softly, kissing her again.

"I love you too, Buffy Summers."

Just then, the comm chirped into the silence of the room. _**"Prime, I am ready."**_

Not recognizing the voice, Kathryn looked up at her mate with a raised brow.

Buffy sat up, pulling Kathryn with her. Taking a deep breath, she prepared to tell her mate that her ship was alive.

"Kathryn over the last few days, I have been sensing an awakening consciousness. I'm not sure why the others haven't sensed it, but I suspect it's because they were focused on me, and my focus was so scattered that I just happened to notice it. It wasn't until we began the mating process yesterday that I realized that it was new."

Kathryn looked astounded. "Are you saying that a child was born on this ship and already has coherent thoughts?"

Buffy shook her head. "Nothing so simple. Kathryn, the consciousness belongs to Voyager herself. Whatever Dawn did, it "woke up" the ship. Voyager is alive."


	19. Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

Kathryn stared at her, shocked and completely speechless.

"Whoa, B, did I just hear that right?" Faith said, sitting up and rubbing sleep out of her eyes. "Did you just say the fuckin' ship's alive?"

Buffy nodded, but kept her attention on Kathryn, who still looked shocked.

Willow looked astonished. "How did I miss that? How did any of us miss that?"

"Well, I doubt that anyone other than the three of us are strong enough to sense her, and you've been kinda focused on me and my problems. I would have told you earlier, but Voyager wanted to become finish gathering the knowledge in her memory banks."

"**Hello, Captain."** Voyager greeted.

"Oh, my God." Kathryn nearly fainted. She jumped out of the bed and threw her clothes on. "Everyone get dressed." She tapped her commbadge. "Janeway to Chakotay."

_Chakotay here, go ahead._

"Chakotay, get Tuvok, Laren, Seven and B'Elanna in the conference room in twenty minutes." She ordered. "You're not gonna believe this."

The girls got dressed and followed Kathryn through the corridors and up to the conference room. In the conference room, they watched Kathryn pace around as she tried desperately to think of what more complications they were in store for and what problems this new situation was going to bring up.

"Kathryn, she's still your ship." Buffy tried to reassure her.

"Buffy, I don't even know what's going on with my ship any more." Kathryn snapped. "You're sister is driving me nuts!"

"Faith, keep an ear out for the others." Buffy grabbed her and pulled her close as she leaned against the wall. "_N'mina_, you know that Dawn would never do anything to hurt you, the crew or you're ship. In fact, knowing Dawn, she probably made everything and everyone better. This might not be something that Dawn did directly. It might be a side effect of the changes that she made. Think of it this way, with the ship alive, it will give you better reaction time, more accurate damage control, and things like that."

Before she could respond with the sharp comment that Buffy could see forming on the tip of her tongue, she gripped her chin and kissed her hard, pulling away only when she felt Kathryn's legs start to give way. Her hands moved down to grip Kathryn's ass, to hold her up, pulling her closer and nearly lifting her off her feet. She was about to kiss her again, but Faith interrupted. "They're coming, B."

'_Kathryn, your people are coming.'_ Buffy said mind-to-mind. _'You might want to straighten up. You look like you've just been having wild sex.'_

'_Maybe because someone decided to try and make me go up in flames?' _came Kathryn's caustic reply. The Prime only chuckled, before stepping back at the sound of the door opening to reveal Tuvok. His only reaction was to raise one eyebrow, as he took in the laughter the others were trying to stifle and his captain's slightly flushed face.

By the time the others filed in, she found the strength to lock the fire Buffy had stirred up down a bit, so as to be able to get through this meeting. Though she could tell from the way Laren, B'Elanna and Seven were watching her that they had either taken note of the clues her body were giving off that she was restraining something, or their enhanced sense of smell was working overtime.

With a glance over towards the senior S'Terrans, she made it clear by a quick jerk of her head they were to seat themselves at the table, which they began to do as Chakotay finally arrived from ensuring everything would be fine without any of them needing to run off.

After taking a long slow look around the table, the captain nodded and began. "I thank you for being prompt in getting here, as the information I recently learned is...disquieting." she waited out the slight stir that statement caused before she continued. "At the same time, this solves the mystery of certain improvements that have been made to the Voyager during our latest little adventure."

"B'Elanna." The engineer straightened in her chair as the captain turned to her. "You noted the systems that distribute energy seemed to have changed into a form of 'bio-organic' technology. As well a comment of what appeared to be conduits forming a network throughout the ship that seemed filled with something that you claimed is similar to 'blood'."

Torres nodded slowly, wondering where Kathryn was going with this. "Yes, that's what it's looking like. The organisms are unlike anything we've ever seen, and it seems to be actively flowing through the systems. After our first accident, we recreated some minor wear and tear on any the conduit lines, and they were repaired by the organisms in much the same way our blood congeals to seal injuries off to heal."

"Tuvok, has there been any change in the programming, to match the change the Voyager has sustained physically?"

"I have noticed that all systems, records and logs have been accessed recently." The Vulcan security officer stated after a long moment of watching her. "A great deal of the various programs currently in the system, as well as the security protocols and defenses are operating at above the level normally seen, even when a ship has just been built. It's as if the ship has been regenerated to above optimal operating capacity."

Chakotay looked around the room before fixing Kathryn with his gaze, knowing there was something hovering behind the questions. "And I take it that you've discovered the reason for these alterations?"

_Here it comes,_ Kathryn took a breath before she nodded. "You might say that." Without tapping her communicator she called. "Janeway to Voyager, would you be so kind as to respond?"

For a split second, everyone save the S'Terrans looked at her as if she'd changed into something they were unsure was safe to be around. But it wasn't until Chakotay opened his mouth to ask her if she was feeling alright that the comm chirped and a hesitant female voice answered. **"I am here, Captain."**

The response around the table, Kathryn mused, would be amusing under any other conditions. Chakotay's mouth hung open for a minute before snapping shut and he sank back in his chair. Seven's cybernetic enhancement over her eyes went up while _Both_ of Tuvok's eyebrows shot up to practically merge with his hair as he commented. "Fascinating."

Laren sat back, at least as stunned as if she'd been hit by a phaser, her mouth hanging open as she looked around the room. Torres nearly fell out her chair as she jerked back in shock.

Kathryn looked around the table, before she asked Voyager. "If you would, Voyager, I'd like you to report on your present condition, abilities, and any goals you might care to share with us?"

It was almost forty-five minutes before the report was complete. Changes, mostly upgrades, had been made to every part of the ship. Propulsion, warp, defensive and offensive capabilities. The ship was larger than before, but somehow it was also faster and more maneuverable. Most of the decks had been reshaped in some way, including deck three. The captain and first officer's quarters had been enlarged to take up the entire deck, and the VIP quarters had been shifted to one of the new decks. Deck 16, the deck with the M-Class atmosphere was completely reinforced. It had the resources to be used as a safe zone in case of irreparable damage to the ship and life support failure. Decks 17 through 20 contained another Holodeck and more crew quarters.

"Wha..." B'Elanna finally stammered, in shock. "How?"

"Buffy thinks that the changes made to the ship by the energy being may have inadvertently given Voyager sentience." Kathryn said. "And after thinking about it, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to agree with her. This obviously increases our chances of survival, as well as give us space to grow. Sooner or later, the people on this ship will start to pair up. It's inevitable. We can't stop them forever, and I'm guessing that eventually, there will be children. The quarters on the lower deck have also been reinforced, and they seems to be larger than the standards dimension for non-officers. My guess is that they're about the size of family quarters."

"Captain, you do realize that Starfleet will want detailed information about this, do you not?" Tuvok injected. "They will no doubt demand that full tests be run on each and every system, detail analyses on the fluid that now runs through the ship, as well as the material that now make up the conduits themselves. I can only assume that they will try to duplicate the effects that have been created and run their own tests when we return to the Alpha Quadrant."

"I have been thinking about that." Kathryn nodded. "That's why this isn't a full senior staff meeting. I'm asking you to refrain from putting any of this information in your reports. I want to get some solid plans in place before Starfleet, or anyone else, is aware of what's happened. Sentience aside, the level of technology now existing on this ship is so far from anything we know, that I will not take the chance of _anyone_ getting their hands on her and taking her apart to find out how it all works."

Everyone agreed, which was easy since only she and Tuvok were actual Starfleet officers who were required to make the reports.

"B'Elanna, Seven, Willow, I want you to work with Voyager and go over every system with a fine toothed comb. Find out how the changes are affecting the working of the integrated systems." They nodded. "Tuvok, you and Laren need to re-examine the schematics of the ship. I want you two to know every nook and cranny that's been created because of this change. I also want you to teach Voyager to protect herself. Run scenarios and simulations on the holodeck. If she knows what to do, she can assist if we're boarded or incapacitated." More nods. "Voyager, I want you to encrypt the part of your neural processor and data banks that form your consciousness. No one, and I mean, no one gets the access codes, not even me. Use Starfleet and Borg protocols, ask Willow for help, make up your own brand of encryption, but I want 'you' inaccessible to anyone that might discover the truth about you. Make some booby traps, false trails and decoys. Should something happen, even if it is Starfleet itself, I want you to protect yourself using any means necessary."

"**Yes, Captain."** Voyager answered. **"Thank you, Captain."**

Kathryn stood and moved over to the wall, laying her hand on it. "You're as much a part of my crew as anyone, and you _will_ be protected as such. If you have any troubles with any of your systems, let B'Elanna know. Consider her your doctor. Everyone, dismissed."

They filed out quickly, Willow, B'Elanna and Seven already deep in conversation, until only Chakotay and Buffy remained. "A word, Captain."

"In a moment, Chakotay." She nodded. "Meet me in my ready room in 20 minutes."

The moment the door closed behind the first officer, Kathryn grabbed Buffy and slammed her against the wall, kissing her fiercely. _'Don't you __**ever**__ get me worked up like this before a meeting again.'_

'_And this is supposed to be a deterrent?' _Buffy asked her, her mental voice amused even as her hands yanked the Captain's shirt out of her pants. _'Do you know how sexy you look when you're all commanding like that?'_

Turning the tables, Buffy grabbed her mate's ass with both hands and lifted her off her feet, moving quickly until she planted Kathryn on the conference room table. Reaching up, she caught Kathryn by the neck and drew her in for a kiss that left both of them a bit breathless.

Moving with a strong urgency, Buffy grabbed the waistband of Kathryn's pants and pulled down and towards herself, forcing her mate to slap her hands to the table to avoid smacking her head on it, as her pants slid to her knees. _'Since you put a time limit on our play...'_ Buffy comments mentally. As Kathryn pushed back upright, she gasped as the Prime disposed of her panties by literally tearing them off. The captain grabbed for Buffy's shirt, intent on yanking her in for another kiss, only to find her mate had others ideas.

Breaking her grip, Buffy pushed Kathryn back and knelt between her spread thighs. Her eyes fluttering shut in pleasure as the Prime feverishly devoured her. Unable to do more than moan her need as her mate sent her soaring to the heights, it didn't take long, given the fever pitch she'd already been at, to go over the edge, biting her lip to muffle the scream trying to claw it's way out of her throat as she writhed on the table riding her release to it's conclusion.

Kathryn lay panting, light-headed from the endorphin rush. _'Is it always this bad?'_

'_No, but the need has to run its course before your body will settle.'_ Buffy assured her. _'It will always be there, but for the most part, it will be manageable.'_


	20. Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

When Kathryn met with Chakotay a few minutes later, she was composed and completely unruffled, command mask firmly in place. Just because she had this god-awful need burning her from the inside out, didn't mean she had to let everyone know. She was sure that there would come a time when she wouldn't be able to hide it, but for now, it was none of their business.

"What can I do you, Chakotay?" She asked, ordering a coffee from the replicator.

"You do realize the possibility that this whole thing is some sort of set up by that _Thing_ you were fighting down there, right?" Chakotay asked, once again playing devil's advocate. "Or worse, that the energy being, or nebula being, or whatever, is playing some sort of sick game with us. What do we really know about these changes except that they _seem_ to be a good thing?"

"I understand your concerns, Chakotay." She reassured him. "Believe me, I do. However, you have to take into account that I know the players in this particular game, and quite well. The First would never do this. It doesn't have the mindset to play a deceit of this scale. As for Dawn, she did this for one reason, and one reason only. We saved her family. You may think this is a bit extreme for a thank-you, but Dawn thinks in large scale. She's given us the tools to aid in our survival, healed our wounds, and cured our injuries. If it makes you feel at all better, you can keep your eyes on the tests that are being run, and I'll have copies of every report sent to you."

"I'll just have to accept that, I guess." The first officer concluded. He didn't like this any better then he'd appreciated her decision to make a deal with the devil, or in this case, the Borg.

She dismissed him with a nod. After the door closed behind him, she dropped into her seat and took several deep breaths. She could feel the need beginning to crawl through her veins once again. She could understand how dealing with this feeling, especially in even greater intensity, would cause her mate to lose control. She felt ready to order Buffy in here, tear off both of their clothes and terrify her crew with their screams.

_'I'm game if you are.'_ Buffy laughed at her.

_'Where are you, love?'_ Kathryn asked.

_'In a training simulation with Faith.' _Buffy told her happily. _'We playing with something called the Hirogen while all you guys are working. We're actually getting a pretty good workout.'_

Kathryn was non-plussed. _'You're what? You're not having any trouble with the Hirogen?'_

_'They're no worse than the uber-vamps._'

Kathryn thought about that, taking a moment to compare the two side by side, and was astonished to realize that she was right. Fighting the Turok-Han had definitely been a lot harder. She wondered with some rueful amusement what else wouldn't pose as much of a challenge after facing the denizens of Sunnydale. _Hmmm,_ she thought, _I wonder if Willow could program advanced training sims from Sunnydale._

With that thought came another that made the captain grin, "Voyager, are the training simulations recorded?"

_"**Yes, Captain, they are."**_

"Good, when they're done, I want you to transfer the vidfile to Security. I want Tuvok to evaluate their technique. I'm sure he'll find it... interesting."

_"**Acknowledged."**_

For a moment, Kathryn thought she heard amusement in the simulated voice, then dismissed it. She suspected that now that the ship had awareness, a personality wasn't far behind. She wasn't sure if she was looking forward to that or not. Shaking her head, she grabbed her portable workstation and moved to lower level of her ready room, settling on the couch. She looked over the work that had accumulated over the day she had spent with Buffy, not even realizing when she fell asleep.

- - - BtVS - - ST: Voyager - - -

Kathryn clutched at the blond head attacking her breasts. Strong, small hands kneaded the globes of her ass as the body before her held her pressed against the corridor wall. The seam of her pants pressed firmly into her hard clit as she wrapped her legs around a trim waist.

"Oh God, Liz." She groaned.

Buffy had caught her on her way to her quarters. Without any warning whatsoever, the younger woman had pinned her to the wall and started kissing her to within an inch of her life. The hunger between them flaring up like a wildfire, burning away all thoughts of where they were or what she was supposed to be doing. Kathryn tore her mouth away to gasp in much needed air, then began to shudder as Buffy used her tongue to bathe the bite mark she had left. There was no coherent thought in Buffy's mind when Kathryn connected, only scorching hot need, then her own thoughts went up in smoke as Buffy ground her muscled abdomen into Kathryn pounding clit and sank her teeth in that sensitive mark. She came screaming.

Kathryn's eyes snapped open, blinking hard at the lighting directly overhead. Her body lurched into sitting position, blearily taking in her ready room though a hazy sheen of lust. Her blood was hot and her body was pounding. She could feel her need as well as Buffy's. And she knew without question that Buffy was on her way. Quickly logging off, knowing in the part of her mind that was still the Captain, that she couldn't do this in her ready room, she quickly moved to intercept her mate. She moved through the deck calmly, giving away none of her inner turmoil, but when the turbolift door opened, she nearly moaned out loud as Buffy's amber eyes swept over her with hot lust.

With no delay, Kathryn walked into the turbolift, but managed to wait for the doors to close behind her before moving straight into her mate's arms. Their lips met in a kiss that sent the fire in their blood skyrocketing. The Prime grasped her mate's legs and lifted, slamming into the side of the turbolift, Kathryn pinned against the wall, her legs locking around the Prime's waist and grinding against her. As Buffy began nibbling her way down Kathryn's throat, the captain called out in a slightly strangled tone of voice, "Voyager, site to site transport to my quarters."

"**Acknowledged."**

When they arrived, they toppled, as the wall Buffy had been holding Kathryn against was no longer present. With superhuman reflexes Buffy twisted them as they fell, so that she landed on the bottom. Voyager had been kind enough however to put them in Kathryn's bedroom, so she landed on Kathryn's bed as opposed to the hard floor. Taking advantage of their position, Kathryn sat upright, straddling her mate as Buffy looked up at her in surprise. Grasping Buffy's hands, she pushed them over the Prime's head as she grinned ferally.

"Did you have fun playing with Faith?" Kathryn asked, her voice pitched low and sultry. Her smile widened as she felt Buffy shiver beneath her. "Getting all hot and sweaty beating up on those creatures twice your size?" Leaning down, she licked the sensitive spot between Buffy's breasts as the scent of sweat and rising lust drove her own need higher. "Did you get yourself all worked up?"

Swallowing audibly, Buffy nodded.

"What were you thinking about when you came looking for me?" Kathryn asked before taking the patch of skin between her teeth. Buffy's body surged up with a gasp. "What were you thinking?"

"Uhhh." Buffy could only groan.

"Were you thinking about taking me?" Kathryn purred. She pressed down on Buffy's hands, a signal to keep them there, then filled her hands with the globes of Buffy's breasts. "Your battle lust affected my dreams, mate."

Buffy growled as Kathryn pinched her nipples hard, pulling them until Buffy's back was bowed. Kathryn felt her belly clench and moisture seeping between her legs at the sound. _God, she's sexy._ Kathryn thought to herself. She continued to wear the blood red leather pants that she had been found in, but was now wearing a black button down shirt that Kathryn recognized from the clothing replicator database. Without hesitation, she tore it open, sending buttons flying around the room. She ran her nails across the muscled abdomen, loving the way the muscles quivered beneath her touch. _'Do you want to take me, __N'mina__?'_

_'Yes!' _Buffy snarled.

_'Then do it.'_ Kathryn said _'Take me. I dare you.'_

That was all it took. Buffy surged up so fast that Kathryn gasped in surprise, sitting up until Kathryn was straddling her lap and tearing through her uniform until she reached smooth skin. Buffy's growl reach the sub-vocal level that shivered through Kathryn's insides, causing her body to rock involuntarily. "You challenge me?!?" Buffy snarled.

"Yes! Prove you are worthy of me!" Kathryn responded just as fiercely.

The Prime's smile would have terrified anyone other than her mate. She pushed the ruined tunic off Kathryn's shoulders, but only far enough to trap her arms at her sides. When she met Kathryn's eyes again, the need of a loving mate was mixed with the anger of a challenged Prime, making them glow a bright golden amber. Gripping her hips, she lifted Kathryn to her feet to continue stripping off her clothes. After disrobing herself, she shifted aside one of the inside flaps in her coat, reaching into one the dimensional pockets to get to the toy that she had replicated to take her mate with. Pushing Kathryn onto the bed, she fitted the toy into place as her mate watched in avid lust. Climbing between Kathryn's legs, she freed her mate's arms from the destroyed tunic, but held her hands pinned by her wrists above her head. Buffy bared her teeth in a predator's smile. "You should have talked to Faith and Willow about challenging me."

- - - BtVS - - ST: Voyager - - -

"Goddess, Faith." Willow panted, dropping back on the bed. "Whatever you've been doing, do it often."

Faith grinned, licking at the sweat gathered on her mate's throat. It hadn't taken much to drag Willow away from her work, despite the technology that she had suddenly found herself surrounded by. The battle lust that had filled Faith after the training session had triggered the mating fire in both her and Buffy, and the moment they exited the holodeck, they had gone their separate ways to track down their respective mates. She rolled onto her back and pulled Willow on top of her.

"You know we're gonna have to tell her soon, right?" Faith said softly, caressing the bite mark on the back of Willow's thigh up near her butt. Her own bite mark, on the back of her neck below her hairline, was tingling. "Don't think she even knows she did it."

"I know, but let her be." Willow said. "She needs this time with Kathryn to resettle herself. She'll come to us in time."

"We'll have to do something about it soon, Red. You know that as well as I do."

"Maybe, but not now." Willow responded, leaning forward to kiss her mate, her tongue leisurely exploring and dueling with her mate's. _'_Right now, I need to make love to you again._'_

Moaning into the kiss, Faith spreads her legs for her lover, filling her own hands with Willow's breasts. Willow thrust her fingers into the warm cavern of Faith's body, nearly lightheaded from lack of air but refusing to release the kiss. _'I love you, my mate.'_

_'Ditto, baby.'_ Faith responded, finally breaking the kiss to throw her head back, her teeth clenched in pleasure. Willow was using her thumb to put pressure on her clit, curling her fingers to stroke the sweet spot at the top of her pussy. "Uhhhh." Faith's climax was slow and sweet, flowing through her, each wave stronger than the last as Willow kept stroking that spot and pressing harder into her swollen clit. Moving quickly, Willow dropped her head to Faith's breast and bite down on a hard nipple. Faith's next climax crashed through her like a tsunami. "WILLOW!!!!"


	21. Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

'_The time is 0600 hours.'_

Kathryn's eyes blinked open. She smiled slightly at the weight on her back, glancing over her shoulder to see Buffy's head resting between her shoulder blades. The movement was enough to rouse her mate.

"Hmm, Kathryn?" Buffy murmured sleepily.

"Shift aside, honey, I've got to get up." Kathryn said, trying to move.

Buffy shifted, but she moved so that she was covering Kathryn more, instead of less. "You're still on vacation, baby, so unless there's an emergency, you need to enjoy it. Who knows when you'll get another one."

"That's not how it works, my sweet." Kathryn told her. "I'm the captain. I'm always on duty. Even on vacation. Besides, I sent a message to my senior officers for a meeting at 0800. Our time here is almost up, and it's time to discuss our options."

Buffy sighed, but kissed her neck as she moved. Rolling to her feet, Kathryn gave her a proper kiss, but pulled the sheet over her breast to cover the temptation before heading to the ensuite. Buffy laid back and relaxed as she watched her mate prepare for her day.

"What do you have to do today?" Buffy asked as she went to the replicator to order her a coffee. "Willow programmed in Folgers Dark Colombian in the replicator for you. At least you can enjoy that until you can get your sister's again. She put all that stuff you taught her to good use when from the holodeck. She probably knows these systems as well as you do, at least the ones she could access. She _was_ kind enough _not_ to hack into anything... yet."

"Thank you, my love." Kathryn accepted the steaming cup, taking the first sip with a moan of pleasure. "For the coffee and the warning. The first thing I need to do before I log on is to stop by Sickbay for a thorough examination."

"What?" Buffy froze, her eyes wide with sudden fear. "Why? Did I hurt you?"

"No, love, of course not." Kathryn reassured her quickly. "But when Seven did the deep scan on the crew, she discovered the incomplete gene that had been added into my DNA. According to what Dawn told me, the gene should have been completed with our mating, and the Doctor will need to know what to expect for anyone who decides to accept mating with a S'Terran."

"You know that he won't find any medical explanation for your new abilities, right?" Buffy asked her. "Any more than he'll find a medical explanation for ours. He wants one of us to come in for a complete physical and a round of _testing_."

"One of you?" Kathryn's brow raised in amusement.

"Won't be me." Buffy admitted with a grin. "I've had enough of hospitals, even that one. Besides, unless it's a potential fatal wound, I doubt any of us will willingly go back in there. I think I'll ask Faith and Willow if they'll go. Faith's the next strongest after me, and she doesn't have my hang-ups, and Willow will be able to give him the information about us that he needs."

Kathryn's low laughter made shivers of pleasure run down Buffy's spine. Leaning down slightly to kiss her mate, she tweaked a bare, hard nipple as she passed. "You behave, you hear me, darling. No more playing in the holodeck. I need to get some work done today."

Buffy pulled her mate close and kissed her neck, inhaling deeply. "I promise, but the mating fire may flare up again even without my help. We're new mates, so it'll be a little unstable for a bit. Kinda like how newlyweds are always horny."

Kathryn gripped a handful of blonde hair and pulled her head away, knowing how much Buffy liked her forcefulness, shivering inside at the spark in her amber eyes. Buffy involuntarily bared sharp teeth as she growled. "This is not behaving, my sweet."

"You know better than that, Admiral." Buffy purred in S'Terran. "That's no way to make me behave."

Kathryn nearly moaned at the feral fire igniting in her blood. With a jolt, she realized that she could smell Buffy's arousal. She knew without looking that her mate's inner thighs were coated with sweet nectar. She licked her lips in hunger as Buffy remained passive in her grip, making no move to influence her decision in any way, which somehow only made her want the Prime even more. That bare hint of submissiveness made her want more. Without thinking, she wrapped her arm around Buffy's waist and yanked her close.

- - - BtVS - - ST: Voyager - - -

"Report." Kathryn ordered as she stepped onto the bridge an hour and a half later.

"Everything's quiet, Captain." Ensign Kim informed her.

"I'll be in my ready room." Kathryn retreated to her ready room to go over several of the reports that were marked priority one. As she suspected, they were mostly reports regarding the changes in the ship, although she could also see a few from the Doctor. Those she saved for later since he had given her the highlights of the messages during her exam. As Buffy had told her, he didn't find any indicators that explained her new strengths and sharper senses.

She smiled faintly as she recalled his frustration. Unlike Klingons, and Vulcans, whose enhanced strength and senses were mostly due to evolving on heavy gravity worlds, the Doctor could find no reason for the bone strength of normal-grav bone density or the strength that defied the delicate muscular structure. Everything that was developing within Kathryn herself. She left a message for Faith and Willow to see the Doctor after they awoke, and why.

Shaking her head and brought her mind back to her work. She only had another thirty minutes before the meeting that she had scheduled, and she wanted to be at least mostly caught up on reading the reports that had been collecting at her workstation while she had been with Buffy. She knew that there were going to have to be some decisions made, and plans. Exactly, thirty minutes later, her alarm chime rang out and she downloaded all the reports to her portable workstation and migrated to the conference room, where she continued to read as she waited for her officers to join her.

"Good morning, Captain." Chakotay greeted her, leading the crew in. "The Doctor won't be joining us for this meeting. He sent me a message that Faith and Willow arrived in Sickbay to answer his questions regarding their people."

She smiled up at him as one by one they took their seats. For the first half of the meeting, they reiterated their previous reports regarding their beloved ship. Kathryn met the gazes of those who knew about Voyager's new sentience, and their barely noticeable nods reassured her that they would not be mentioning it. "All right, people. We've only got a few days left here. Tell me something new."

"Well, Captain," B'Elanna began. "The energy intake for the ship has changed. The changes to the systems have made them faster and more powerful, but somehow, they are using less energy. The girl, Willow, really is as good as you claimed. She made some changes to several programs, and even Seven was impressed. She told me that you explained our technology to her while you were in her town, but she be some kind of genius or something, cause she was picking this stuff up on the first few tries."

"She is a genius, especially in regards to computers, but she's also telepathic, so she's probably absorbing knowledge as fast as you're thinking about it."

B'Elanna nodded. "I can get with that. Anyway, she proposed the idea of collecting some kind of element and converting to the energy needed to power the ship. It would solve our problem with resources and more importantly, eliminate the need for replicator rationing." Kathryn smirked at her and nodded for her to continue. "The response time for Voyager's systems has increased nearly 50."

"Has everyone become familiarized with the upgraded systems?"

"Yes, Captain." Tuvok answered. "After a detailed analysis of each new system configuration, I have familiarized myself and taught the other members of the beta and gamma shift as well as the crew of the alpha shift that were occupied with the 'testing'. I have also submitted detailed documentation for the new configurations of all systems, which are accessible from any workstation, as well as training programs on the holodeck."

"Good." Kathryn nodded. "I want all of us here up to speed before we leave. Beyond that, we can train them on the way home. Next? Seven, did the Doctor check your implants?"

"Yes, Captain." Seven of Nine answered. "He has told me that the changes to my implants have not impacted their function in any way. They continue to function at peak efficiency. They are merely more aesthetically pleasing. He has noted that although there are as flexible and malleable as flesh, they still retain the texture and temperature of metal."

"All right." The captain smiled, relieved. She turned her her security officers. "Tuvok, did you get the training simulation recording of Buffy and Faith against the Hirogen?"

"I did, and I must admit that I am... impressed." Tuvok admitted. Everyone but Laren and Kathryn stared at him in open-mouthed shock. "They fought off the Hirogen forces with little difficulty."

"Little difficulty." Tom gasped. "The Hirogen? Are you serious?"

Tuvok looked over at him with a raised brow before ignoring the question and activated the recording on the main viewscreen. They all watched as the Prime and Alpha fought their way through the advanced Hirogen simulation with laughter, sarcastic wit and sexual innuendo (mostly from Faith). Kathryn watched with a faint smile of pride as she recognized some of the techniques that she had taught them herself. Glancing around the table, her smiles widened as she took in the wide eyes and open mouths, especially Chakotay's. She turned back to Tuvok when he began speaking again. "They constantly alter their attack, giving them unpredictability. Their jocularity unsettles their opponent. They are formidable fighters one on one, but when they fight together, nothing has been able to stand against them."

"What do you say to the idea of possibly using them as something similar to Marines?" Kathryn asked him. "They don't take orders well, but protecting their home and family is what they do best."

"Are they reliable?" Chakotay asked. "More importantly, can we trust them?"

Kathryn sat back in her chair. "They don't take orders well, because they have very little trust for authority figures. The police in Sunnydale wasn't worth the color of their uniforms, the mayor turned into a 60-foot demon and tried to eat their graduating class and the council that was supposed to support and care for them treated them like slaves with lethal combat ability. The younger ones will follow Buffy, Willow and Faith through hell, heaven and beyond, and those three trust me enough to know that I could never abuse that trust."

"So you're saying that you can control them?"

"The mystical powers that decided their destinies couldn't control Buffy Summers." Kathryn actually laughed at that. "No, for them, it's all about respect. I fought at their side, in their war, and I earned their respect. Just like I accede to her authority when in her territory, she'll accede to my authority here in mine."

Chakotay's eyes narrowed slightly at the affection in her voice, but remained silent.

"If they remain on the ship, then they will do whatever necessary to protect both this ship and the crew. Believe me when I say that pissing them off is the last mistake _anyone_ would ever make." Kathryn stood and passed out padds. "Moving on. I have ideas that I want to implement in regards to the ship, the crew and our remaining time here in the Delta Quadrant. I spoke to Seven and Tuvok briefly while we were in Sunnydale, but I wanted to get my ideas down in their entirety before I approached it."

"These are some extreme changes, Captain." Chakotay remarked as he read through the padd. "What's bringing this on?"

"It's been on my mind for a while, but as I study the changes made to this ship in their entirety, I've come the realize that they may need to be implemented sooner rather than later."

"What do you mean?" Tom asked.

"I don't think these changes were merely gifts." Kathryn admitted as she moved back to the head of the table. Picking over the reports, she held them up one by one as she mentioned them. "We have better shields and weapons. Our systems, including propulsion and warp, have been streamlined for better power and more efficient energy consumption. We have five new decks, four with crew quarters that are 50 larger than the standard for this vessel. Our hull is not only armored, but has been strengthened by almost 150. No, ladies and gentlemen, these are not just gifts. I think Dawn is preparing us."

"Preparing us for what, Captain?" B'Elanna asked.

"Families." Kathryn answered solemnly, finally sitting back down. "Dawn has prepared Voyager to become a generational ship."


	22. Chapter Twenty One

Chapter Twenty-One

_Buffy stirred fairly quickly after she had her first orgasm, feeling much better, but unable to rest yet even as the lust gave just a little. She felt the hitch in Willow's panting, as her lovely captive began to realize the Prime was still active and tensed up. She sent a light growl into Willow's ear, warning her without words about trying to move, and her prey subsided with a submissive shudder that inadvertently brought Buffy's lust even higher._

_Rolling off the bed and rising to her feet, the Prime reached out and dragged Willow off the bed and into her arms. With one arm wrapped around Willow's stomach like a bar of iron, she wrapped her other arm around her throat, not enough to hurt but enough to pull her head back enough so she could speak into her prey's ear comfortably._

"_You liked your first taste of my little toy, did you?" Buffy ground her toy against Willow's ass for emphasis, shuddering at the 'feel' even as Willow shuddered in remembrance of how good it had been to be fucked with it. "I know I enjoyed riding you with it. But time's going by that can be better spent in preparation for the taking of your mate."_

_Her lips curving into a hungry smile the Prime called out, "Computer, activate holodeck program Willow 001."_

_Willow stiffened in surprise as the holodeck shifted to a cavern setting, complete with a small bubbling hot spring, chains set into the cavern walls at various places, and an enormous pile of furs close to one side, "H-How did-"_

"_How did I know?" The Prime smiled, giving Willow's ear a gentle bite as she began walking towards the spring, pushing Willow relentlessly forward, "I heard you working on it. It reminded me of how your Vamp double was, and I got a peek one day how Faith had you chained to the bed." Buffy purred at the memory, "You have __**no **__idea how badly I wanted to come in and beg Faith to let me play that day."_

"_But now, I don't have to beg. Now I get to __**Want**__." The Prime bent her head and raked her teeth lightly across Willow's neck, causing her captive to shudder in rising lust._

"_**Take**__" She moved the hand holding Willow across her stomach down to between her legs._

"_**Have**__", with no more warning then that, Buffy curled her fingers and plunged them into Willow's welcoming heat, causing the red head to give a strangled gasp as she arched her back in reaction._

_Buffy stopped after having inserted her fingers however, holding them within her prey though Willow tried to gain more friction. Buffy waited until her captive began to beg for it before saying. "Do what I say, and I'll grant you release."_

_At Willow's frantic agreement to do so, Buffy caressed Willow's inner muscles once, then told her, "Move the set of chains next to the hot spring, that will leave you spread with your lower legs in the water."_

_As soon as the chains were moved, Buffy pulled free of Willow, and with her cry of frustrated need echoing around the cavern, spun the redhead to face the Prime. With a hungry snarl, she pulled Willow forward. Her right hand grasping her captive's hair, her left grasping her ass. Grinding a thigh against Willow's clit, she pulled on Willow's hair, forcing her head back into perfect position for Buffy to plunder her prize's gasping lips. And plunder those lips she did, never letting up as Willow's knees buckled, intent upon exploring every inch of her mouth from the inside._

_Guiding her prey to the ground until she was flat on her back between the chains, Buffy turned away from her panting captive only long enough to chain her arms in place. That necessity seen to, the Prime took a moment to imprint this into her memories, the way Willow looked, chained and desperate for release not from the chains, but from the blazing __**need**_

_Buffy took a moment to remove her toy, then began to draw her hands down Willow's sides, along her breasts, before changing her position, laying on top of her best friend with her legs straddling Willow's head and her breasts pressed into the bound woman's quivering belly. With long, lazy strokes of her tongue, Buffy cleaned Willow's inner thighs and pussy, purring in pleasure as more fluid leaked out onto her searching tongue. 'Hmm, Will, you're sooo wet.' She thought to her friend. 'Do you want to come?'_

"_Yes!" Willow ground out through clenched teeth. "Pleaaaase!"_

'_After you've made me come.' Buffy's voice was almost menacing in her demand. 'I'll give you your release only after I've had mine.'_

_Buffy's eyes nearly rolled to the back of her head as she felt that soft tongue on her folds. She was careful to keep her body low enough that Willow didn't need to strain, but couldn't stop herself from rocking with the waves of pleasure flowing through her. Through it all, she kept teasing the pussy below her face with teeth and tongue. Scraping sharp teeth against sensitive thighs. Dipping in and out of Willow's dripping hole, but always pulling back when her prey's hips came up off the ground._

'_Ohgoddessohgoddessohgoddess' Buffy smiled at the mental rambling coming from the desperate captive. If Willow had seen her face, she could have orgasmed right then and there. Then she gasped as Willow's tongue suddenly thrust into her sopping core without warning. She bowed forward, pushing her pussy further onto Willow's tongue and grinding her clit on her chin. She could feel her inner muscles squeezing on the intruder, could feel the climax hovering just out of reach. Then, Willow withdrew and dipped down to take her clit into her mouth, sucking hard and furious, and Buffy involuntarily sank her teeth into Willow's thigh as her orgasm exploded through her. Dimly, as if through a long tunnel, she heard Willow's scream of release as well. She also 'felt' a flicker of bewildered reaction from Faith, and knew that she was on her way back from wherever she had disappeared to._

_The knowledge gave the Prime a jolt, as her need to make her Alpha pay for her audacity as well cleared the haze of bliss from her release from her eyes and mind. She could not wait to have the other woman at her mercy as well. Rising from her position, Buffy snapped her hand out to snag her toy from where she had laid it to the side, fitting it back in place with a shudder as the neural connections attached to her still throbbing clit._

_Turning back to her captive, she was most pleased to note she was beginning to come out of the endorphin high her latest release had bestowed upon her. Meeting her best friend's gaze, Buffy was even happier to see the look of faint surprise, lightly flavored by alarm as Willow began to realize the how strong the Prime's hunger was still clawing at her._

'_Your mate is coming.' Buffy's lips turned up in a faint smile as her prize's relief at that, followed by a spike of arousal at the realization the brunette was going to find her chained and helpless. 'So hang on, lover. The ride's about to get __**truly**_ _wild!'_

_As she 'spoke' she slid quickly into the water, giving no more than a slight gasp at the heat as the toy went into the water, she grabbed Willow by her legs and pulled her into position, shackling her ankles beneath the water. As she reacted to that, the Prime reared back and lunged into her, burying the toy to the hilt_ _in_ _her prize's wet depths. Willow's head snapped back and her body arched with a scream as Buffy hammered in and out, working on driving Willow to the heights as fast she could. As soon as she felt Willow was at the brink, she pulled out, purring as the shuddering moan of dismayed frustration was torn from her captive at the loss. 'You're not to come yet, pet. You can't come until your mate makes you.' To ensure she understood properly, the Prime gave Willow visions of her being held like this, wanting needing __**begging**__ for hours if she came early. 'Understand?'_

_Willow sobbed as she nodded her agreement, before moaning as Buffy slid deeper into water and began leisurely licking her thighs of her leaking nectar, insuring her need for release did not dim in the slightest, going out of her way to avoid the diamond hard clit twitching madly in search of any friction._

_They both knew when Faith became aware of her mate's predicament. The unique flavor of her lust and desire announced her as she stopped and stared at the scene before her. _

_After the Prime was certain Faith had taken in as much of the sight as she needed for her own hunger to begin screaming, Buffy raised her head and glanced at her, "Mmm, Faith" Buffy's purr of satisfaction at the level of sheer lust filling the Alpha's eyes rolled through the cavern, a sub-sonic encouragement to join in, "We've been waiting for you."_

_She watched Faith stagger forward step by step with the hunger beginning to claw harder at her at the thought of having the Alpha at her mercy. _

_With that in mind, the Prime spoke to her one more time, this time with both voice, and mind together, weaving a hypnotic spell around her, willing the brunette to take the bait being waved in front of her, "She's ready for you_ _Faith. Aren't you ready for her, Willow?" The Prime was pleased at the desperate plea the red-head sent to her mate, as she watched Faith begin frantically shedding clothing. And as the brunette took her reaching hand, she could not help the slight smile of victory._

_A smile that vanished instantly even as Willow screamed her release as her mate began devouring her. She had detected a scent she should not have. Kathryn's scent, __**her mate's**__**scent was on Faith?!?**_

_Her rage flared anew, screaming at her she was being betrayed by her Alpha. But almost as fast as that thought hit she dismissed it, for while her scent was laced with Kathryn's scent, there was no trace of her mate's arousal. Just her unique scent. Which was bad enough._

_Buffy came out of her shock, her gaze on the pair before her, a lustful anticipation rising, banishing the last desire to break Faith's neck, and replace it with the desire to teach her not to meddle in affairs that did not need her intervention. To have Faith beg and plead for forgiveness, anything to have the fire Buffy planned on building in her sated._

_With that in mind, the Prime moved into position behind Faith, her slight smile re-appearing as the brunette spread her legs in preparation. Leaving her perfectly placed for Buffy's goal. _

_As she placed herself, gaining a grip on Faith's hips to ensure there would be no escape, Buffy "whispered" to Willow, taking care to avoid Faith detecting any hint of what was in store for her, 'Remember what I promised, Willow? I told you that Faith was next.' her smile widened as she felt Willow's understanding, and spike of arousal at the thought, 'Open your eyes, witch, and watch me take your mate.'_

_She watched as Willow obediently forced her eyes open, holding onto herself despite her mate's enthusiastic efforts, the lure and the command too strong to deny. Upon being certain she was holding Willow's eyes with her own she smiled, a feral promise of hunger and need._

_Still smiling, Buffy pulled her hips back to build momentum, before stabbing her toy deep into Faith's core hard enough to lift the brunette onto her toes. Her body arching backward in response to her impalement, her head flying back to press into Buffy's shoulder in a futile effort to remain upright. Buffy gritted her teeth at the feel of Faith's muscles gripping the toy, massaging the intruder even as she started building a rhythm that swiftly had Faith leaning over her red-headed mate, hands braced in an effort to withstand the pace._

_Feeling the need to clear the air at what was coming, the Prime reached down to tangle a hand in her Alpha's hair, to get the grip she needed to haul her Alpha back up against her. Without slowing, she softly spoke into Faith's right ear, "You have my mate's scent on you, Faith."_

_Buffy felt Faith's sudden understanding_ _and apprehension at what was really happening here. To emphasize her point, the blonde ex-slayer reached between Faith's legs to pinch her clit_ hard.

_Satisfaction at Faith's scream of pleasure/pain burning along her blood and the shuddering release that stunned the brunette, as well as Willow's helpless reaction to the backlash of her mate's orgasm, the Prime deliberately opened her mind to her captive audience, smiling in wicked satisfaction as they felt the clawing need tearing through her even now, after all the effort they'd put into easing it. _

_Buffy snarled 'You think to keep me from my mate?' The furious Prime shoved Faith forward, causing Willow to grunt as she was forced to take more of her mate's weight, her back arching at the pressure Faith's ample charms now put upon her already sensitive lower region. 'You think to deny me what is _**mine**_?' _

_Buffy released her hold on Faith's long hair, moving herself as she resumed her thrusts into her captive's wet core so that one hand was braced upon the edge of the pool next to Willow's spread thighs, while she prevented Faith's half-hearted attempt to get up by slamming the palm of her other hand into the brunette's back, pinning her down despite her strength. _

_Thrusting harder, the Prime's mind voice burns as she addresses both of her captives, punctuating each word by yet another thrust, 'I. Will. Teach. You. Both.'_

_As Faith screamed through her next orgasm, Buffy forced hers back by sheer will as she accessed the computer. "Computer, tritanium shackles. Design Theta 4."_

_Buffy grabbed the wrist shackles as soon as they materialized next to Willow's hips. Before Faith could react, she grabbed both arms and shackled them behind her lower back. Faith instinctively fought, pulling, trying to break the chain, but the metal Buffy had selected was one of the strongest ever discovered, and it would take a lot of concentrated effort to be broken. Buffy intended to have Faith's complete and total concentration long before then. She let Faith struggle for a bit, but before her mind cleared enough to make a verbal complaint, Buffy began moving again, her thrusts strong and steady. She forced her way past both of their mental defenses, binding them all together, so that Willow could feel the sensation of both giving and taking. She could hear them panting in rhythm, and she reached forward to flick Willow's clit with her nail, making the ex-witch cry out desperately in her need._

'_Oh, you two are so beautiful like this.' Buffy purred, pinching Faith's nipple sharply. 'But that won't stop me from administering punishment. You should know better, Faith. You should know better than to keep a Slayer from her mate.'_

'_We... We're not Slayer's anymore, B.' Faith groaned in response._

'_Once a Slayer, always a Slayer, you know that.' Buffy told her. 'Just because we've got new bodies and new lives, doesn't make us any less Slayers. You feel the burn to hunt just as much as I do. The need to slay, the lust after a fight. That's what makes us Slayers.'_

_Her voice was low and dangerous, even in their minds, a smoky tone that had both Willow and Faith throbbing in response. 'Want.' Thrust. 'Take' Thrust. 'Have.' Thrust. 'Isn't that what you told me, Faith? 'I __**want**__ my mate, but you have decided to keep her from me and offered yourselves. So I will _**take**_ what you've offered, but in my own way. I will __**have**__ you begging me, pleading for release only I can give you. You will __**never**__ attempt to keep me from my mate again!'_

_Buffy continued to pound into the brunette, knowing well that each thrust pushed Faith's chest hard into Willow's swollen, sensitive pussy. She could feel her own orgasm coiling within her like a dark abyss, closing in with each climax that shook the body beneath her. Leaning over Faith's back, she licked at the sweat on the back of Faith's neck, breathing in the intoxicating scent of lust and need and submission that now rolled from both her captives, that had her blood so on fire that she was almost surprised that she didn't burst into flames. Reaching down, she dragged her nails down the twitching muscles of Faith's abdomen until she rested them on her spasming clit, pressing her nail into the sensitive flesh just enough for Faith's lust-drowned mind to register the slight pain, and the younger girl erupted like a volcano, clamping down on the appendage pushing into her with such strength that Buffy imploded right behind her, sinking sharp teeth in the back of the brunette's neck just beneath her hairline._ _Faith went into a series of spasms, that ended with her laying limply across Willow's shuddering body, as the sheer power of her orgasm abruptly magnified three-fold, in turn drawing out the Prime's release to the point where it was impossible to tell whether she was feeling pleasure, or pain._

Buffy jerked awake, sweating, her body jerking in her dream-induced climax_. Oh shit_!, she thought frantically_, I mated with Faith and Willow_! She jumped out of bed and yanked on her clothes. _I've gotta find Kathryn._


	23. Chapter Twenty Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Hello, darling, I was just about to call you." Kathryn met Buffy in the middle of her ready room after admitting entrance to the younger woman. "Are you all right?"

Buffy looked like she had back in Sunnydale when the others had started questioning her leadership after the confrontation with Caleb that had gotten several of the Potentials killed. It had taken some fast and serious talking on Kathryn's part to calm everyone down, knowing what the outcome would have been if she'd failed. The look frightened her now because the last time she'd seen it, she'd made the decision to go back to the vineyard alone, to find whatever it was that was calling out to her without putting her friends' and the Potentials in the line of fire again. It had taken Kathryn all day to convince her that she, herself, was going with her and there was nothing the senior Slayer could do to stop her.

"What's happened?" Kathryn demanded, cupping Buffy's face with her hands. "What's wrong?"

'_I took Faith and Willow as mates that day in the cave.'_ Kathryn was shocked, and glad that the door was closed, when Buffy fell to her knees and buried her face in her abdomen, wrapping thin, deceptively strong arms around her and holding her tightly as she wept. _'I'm sorry, N'mina. I'm sorry.'_

Kathryn could hear the fear and guilt in her mental voice, and could feel the trembling in the body wrapped around her. Carefully, knowing that she could cause irreparable damage if she didn't handle this right the first time, she urged Buffy to her feet and over to the couch. "Tell me what happened."

Instead of telling her, Buffy sent her the images that were cycling through her mind over and over since she'd awakened. Kathryn's eyes closed as she absorbed what she was seeing. Buffy in all her savage glory as Prime. Now she knew what Buffy had meant when she had suggested that she talk to Faith and Willow about challenging her. Even seeing it from a third person perspective had her body throbbing in lust as Kathryn watched Buffy dominate her subordinates who had dared try to place controls on her actions, erratic or otherwise.

"Kahless, Liz, that was intense." Kathryn finally said, her body swaying with unfulfilled lust. With effort, she forced her body under control. "Have you talked to them yet?"

"No." Buffy sniffled and shook her head. "I came straight to you after I woke up."

"This is going to be all right. Well, that explains why they've been so jumpy around you for the last few days." Kathryn realized. Since the last senior staff meeting two days ago, they had been focused on getting as much of the bridge crew familiarized with the new systems configurations as possible. During that time, Kathryn had spent a lot of her off duty time with the three leaders of the S'Terrans, and she had noticed when Faith would jump or Willow's eyes would glaze over whenever Buffy's brushed against them, which she had seemed to be doing more and more without conscious thought. "I know that you've always been attracted to them, so I don't really see what the problem is."

Buffy looked at her mate as if she'd suddenly grown a new head. "I mated them without their permission. That's like forcing them into marriage."

The Captain asked softly. "Can you still feel the connection?"

Buffy closed her eyes and concentrated on the part of her senses that could detect potential mates. She felt the faint threads to the Borg and the Klingon, but her eyes snapped open as she finally detected the new threads, more steady and throbbing more strongly than the others, that led directly to Faith and Willow. Following the thread, she found that she could track them to the holodeck where they were taking advantage of their free time and spending it in their usual ways, but she could feel the unfulfilled desire in them that had nothing to do with the sexual activities that they were engaged in right now. It was calling out to her, making her own body throb and her mouth water.

'_We need you.'_ She distinctly heard a part of them cry out for her. With a start, she realized that she had been feeling it for the last few days, but had not known what it was as she had been solely concentrated on her own mate. Something deep within her responded the instant she became aware of it.

"BUFFY! Snap out of it!" Buffy's eyes snapped open as she was shaken roughly. They were deep and golden, and glowing. Feeling their need, added to the delicious scent of arousal of the mate sitting next to her, sent her instincts into overdrive, and without thinking, she grabbed Kathryn by the hair and kissed her fiercely, pushing with her body until her mate was laid out beneath her. Without letting up on the kiss, she used her free hand to lift Kathryn's leg up to her waist so that she could press her thigh to her mate's sex. Kathryn groaned into the kiss, her body moving of its own accord.

_Not alone_, she thought, bringing her leg up to press against Buffy. Together they moved, undulating against one another until they were finally forced to break the kiss. Kathryn's lifted leg pressed back into the cushions as Buffy nipped down the pale column of her throat. Reaching under the loose shirt, Kathryn dug her nails into Buffy's back, causing the Prime to growl in pain and pleasure. Their climaxes hit them at the same time, catching them both by surprise. Buffy growl turned sub-vocal, and the sound vibrated through Kathryn's body, sending the redhead into fresh spasms.

"Oh, goddess." Buffy gasped, resting her head on Kathryn's shoulder. She wanted to rip her mate's clothes from her body and feast on her for hours. She struggled for control, sensing Kathryn coming down from the endorphin rush. "You are so beautiful."

Kathryn panted and smiled up at her mate. "You know that you won't be able to do that once we're back under way, don't you? These little interludes can't happen when I'm on duty."

"I know." Buffy murmured, tracing delicate features with gentle fingers. "What am I going to do about Faith and Willow?"

"You're going to go and talk to them." Kathryn answered. "I can feel the need in you. It's different from what you feel for me, but easily as strong."

"But you are my mate." The blonde said. "I love you."

The Captain replied softly. "I know you do, but you love them too. You always have. Dawn said that you were capable of multiple mates as you grew stronger, and there isn't anyone stronger than you. It will be all right."

The Prime caught and held her mate's eyes with her own. "Are you sure?"

Kathryn's smile only widened, showing her mate what she needed to see. "Yes, lovely one, I'm sure."

- - - BtVS - - ST: Voyager - - -

Buffy stood outside the holodeck and took a deep breath. She could still the need crawling hotly through her veins as she faintly heard Willow's cries of pleasure through the doors. The doors slid open and she stepped inside. "Voyager, seal the rooms, please. Only let Kathryn in."

"**Acknowledged."**

Tracking their scents, she found them in frolicking in a waterfall, Willow's arms and legs wrapped around her mate. Crouching on the shore, she watched them with narrowed eyes, her teeth bared in lust. Willow's hands were clutched in Faith's hair and their mouths were fused together. Buffy saw Faith's right arm move to wrap around Willow's narrow waist and her other hand moved back and lower, and Willow's head snapped back in a cry as Faith apparently used those talented fingers to great effect.

"Faith!" Willow screamed when Faith dipped her head and closed her lips around a hard nipple.

Buffy couldn't stand it. Ripping off her clothes, shredding the shirt completely in two, she slipped soundlessly into the water and moved in close to press herself against Faith's back. Before either of them could respond to her sudden presence, Buffy reach down with one hand and buried three fingers into Faith's suddenly spasming sex. With her other, she followed the silky wet skin of the brunette's arm to join their fingers together as they pushed into the panting redhead. Bending her knees slightly, the blonde tilted backwards to support their weight as Faith suddenly surged to her tiptoes at the sudden invasion. At the same time, Willow screamed through the orgasm that had her head snapping back and hard shudders flowing through her body. The back of Faith's head slammed back onto Buffy's shoulder as her own orgasm crashed through her, overwhelmed by the things Buffy was doing to her body and helping her do to Willow.

And through it all, Buffy held as steady as she could, even as her own pleasure was magnified by the feedback from her companions enough to cause her the first climax of this encounter. Which is why they all ended up falling over into the water. Breaking loose of each other to struggle back to the water's surface, they all surfaced at roughly the same time, staring at each other, worry and lust vying in each of them almost equally.

Before the others could say anything, Buffy broke the silence. "I'm sorry for what I've done to you. I never wanted to hurt either of you."

Faith shook her head adamantly "_I told you before, B, you didn't hurt us. We didn't expect it to get that serious, but it _**wasn't **_a bad thing."_

Willow swam to Buffy, wrapping her arms around her neck and dipping her head to meet her eyes. "We enjoyed the things you did to us. The fact you **wanted **us badly enough to **take **what we were willing to give. It's why I enjoy playing the games I do with Faith."

When Buffy looked away, Willow grasped Buffy's chin and gently turned her back to face her. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. I knew what I was doing when I hit you with that blast. I knew how you would react, but it was the only way. Besides, I loved every moment of it. Now, none of us expected that you had the kind of power that could exert your will over ours, but if we didn't want it, we would have fought you, and you would have stopped."

"How can you be so sure?" Buffy asked. "I practically raped you. I mated you without asking."

"C'mon, you two." Faith said. "Let's go sit down." They swam towards the shore until the water was shallow enough to sit comfortably in. Willow on one side of Buffy and Faith on the other. "Now, I want you to listen to me, B. I know what it feels like to be forced into something that I don't want. I wouldn't never let that happen to me again without a hell of a fight, and I for damn sure would _never_ let that happen to Red. We know you would have stopped because that's the kind of person you are. I can't say the same thing for me. Hell, I can't even say that same thing for Red. We've both abused the power we had, and it's possible that we'll do it again, but you didn't, even when it would have been easier for you."

"As for the mating bites," Willow added. "because you did do it without permission, we could have rejected them at any time. We could have broken the connection, but we didn't. We want this, Buffy. We want to be your mates. We 'felt' the potential before, and accepted it, but you were too focused on Kathryn. When you had us that day, you were running on instinct, so it's not so surprising that you mated us."

They sat quietly for a while, but they could still feel the low throbbing in their guts, the need for each other. Buffy glanced over as Willow moved further up to the shore, leaned back and closed her eyes, stretching out to soak up the warm sunshine. Her heart began to pound as she took in the sight of the pale, glistening flesh laid out before her. Unable to stop herself, she inched her way closer, her mouth watering as memories of how that flesh tasted against her tongue. She didn't notice when Faith turned to look at her with flared nostrils as the scent of her arousal filled the air between them. Reaching out with a slightly trembling finger, she traced the contours of Willow's breasts, eyes narrowing at the sudden, sharp intake of breath, and flicked the hard nipple with her fingernail.

Willow hummed and arched her back into the caress. She could feel Buffy's intense gaze on her skin, and it made her sex throb in anticipation. She knew, as well as Faith did, that none of them would be leaving until the mating ritual was completed. The mere thought made her insides shiver, but instead of stretching out to give Buffy more access, she tangled her fingers with her friend's and tugged until Buffy was straddling her body.

"Oh, no, Buffy." She whispered against the Prime's parted lips. "It's our turn now."

Before Buffy could respond, Faith draped her wet form across her back and reached around to pinch her hard nipples. The only thing that came out of Buffy's mouth was a long groan as her eyes closed and her head fell forward. Willow held onto her hips as her body started rocking, she could feel Buffy's arousal dripping onto her own thighs. "Ohh, Buffy, you are beautiful like this."

Buffy's arms collapsed as a small mini-orgasm rippled up her spine, dropping her body onto Willow's. Faith pulled her hands from between their bodies and raked her nails down Buffy's back, making the blonde cry out in pleasure. Willow's hands had migrated from her hips to her inner thighs, skipping over the sensitive flesh teasingly.

"Do you want us, Buffy?" Willow whispered up at her. "Do you want us as mates?"

"Yes." Buffy choked.

"But what about Kathryn?" Willow asked, suspecting the answer, but wanting to be sure.

"S-S-She sent me to you." Buffy gasped. She had managed to push herself back up, but her arms were trembling with the effort to remain passive as they played with her body. She hissed in pleasure as Faith squeezed the globes of her ass.

"You ever let KJ play back here, B?" Faith asked, brushing her thumb over the dark opening between her butt cheeks. Her eyes narrowed as Buffy's back bowed, throwing her head back even as she pushed back into the ghostly caress. "Ohh, I bet you have."

Buffy shuddered at the timber of Faith's smoky voice. Only Faith and Kathryn had even managed to arouse the blonde with speech alone, but Faith had nothing on Kathryn. That woman's voice could make Buffy climaxed by sound alone. Faith, however, did a damn fine job coming in second. "Has anybody but KJ been here, B?"

Buffy shook her head. Her whole body was shaking as Faith's caresses became just a tad bit firmer, and Willow's fingers began tracing her slick folds. "Can you feel the difference between us? My fingers are a bit shorter and thicker than her slim digits, ain't they? Her smooth skin and my calluses? Can you imagine how those calluses would feel pushing inside you?"

Buffy shuddered through another small orgasm. "Ohhh, yes, pleaaase."

Both Faith and Willow pushed in at the same time. With her free hand, Faith gathered Buffy's hair and pulled it over her shoulder so that she could see her face, and smiled ferally as she watched Buffy's mouth moving in silent 'ohgodohgodohgodohgod'.

Willow's pale green eyes glowed up at her, and she just knew that her own were glowing back. They could feel the pulsing need coiling in Buffy just as they could feel their own bodies preparing for the claiming. The need had been flaring in them for days now, and it had become so intense, despite their efforts to relieve it themselves, that Buffy didn't even need to touch them to bring to them the edge of release. Supporting herself on one hand, Willow lifted herself up to run her tongue from Buffy's open lips down to the sensitive spot between her breasts. Although her teeth weren't as sharp as theirs, they were sharp enough, and she used them to scrape a path over plump flesh to a tease a hardened nipple. Faith did the same at her neck, biting down on a visible tendon at her throat opposite the still visible bite marks, just hard to hint at true pain but not enough to break skin.

"Fuck me!" Buffy moaned. "Please Faith, Willow, do it!"

Reaching over Buffy's shoulder, Faith grabbed a handful of red hair and pulled her mate into a steaming kiss before they focused solely on the blonde between them. Thrusting in concert, one pushing in as the other pulled out, they pushed the Prime higher and higher until she was cursing them and begging them and crying out her need, the upcoming claiming forcing her to restrain her climax. "Please!"

Before the word was fully out of her mouth, both women sunk their teeth in their respective claiming spots. Willow bit into the spot between her breasts, the spot that always made her body throb, as Faith sunk her sharper teeth into the flesh covered muscles of the back of Buffy's right shoulder. Buffy's scream reverberated through the simulated mountains. Willow's and Faith's cries soon followed. In her ready room, Kathryn grabbed hold of the edge of her desk as Buffy's mind reached out and latched onto hers instinctively to share in her pleasure.


	24. Chapter Twenty Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

"Come in." Kathryn called out as the door chimed. She smiled brightly at the woman that walked into the room. "T'Pel, it's so good to see you, again."

"Captain Janeway." T'Pel inclined her head slightly in greeting. "It has been a long time."

"Yes, it has." Kathryn said, indicating her couch. T'Pel shook her head, declining the seat. "Would you like some tea?"

"Yes, thank you." T'Pel nodded.

"I can't begin to tell you how good it is to see you again." Kathryn admitted as she ordered the tea that she remembered T'Pel preferred, as well as a fresh cup of coffee for herself. "I've been worried about Tuvok since I know _that_ time was upon us, but Dawn said that she... reset his clock, so to speak. On the other hand, how on Earth did you get here?"

"As I was meditating, I was visited by a young female human and asked if I wished to join my mate." T'Pel said simply. "After much contemplation, and arranging my affairs according, I accepted the offer and awoke in your sickbay."

Kathryn stared at the Vulcan, immediately considering two things. One, Vulcans do understatement better than anyone she had ever encountered and two, Dawn would never do anything with so simple an explanation. "Did she tell you everything?"

"Yes, she did, Admiral." T'Pel inclined her head slightly in acknowledgement. "She explained to me your 'travels', and the changes that were made. She decided that I would be a reasonable 'mother figure' for these young people who, because of their nature, will require someone calm and level-headed to rein them in on occasion."

"You, not me?"

T'Pel's brow rose in the Vulcan equivalent of a smile that she recognized from Tuvok. "Your blood will soon run as hot as theirs. There will come a time when you will need to be 'reined in' as well, although that is Tuvok's duty, as it has always been."

"Is there anything else that you can tell me?" Kathryn asked, sighing heavily, half in exasperated amusement and half in wary knowledge that there was some no-so-good news coming her way.

"Actually, Kathryn Janeway," T'Pel answered solemnly. "we have _much_ to speak of."

- - - BtVS - - ST: Voyager - - -

Buffy purred as she awoke, stretching in a long feline undulation that shifted every deliciously aching muscle. Faith and Willow shifted into a more comfortable position, still asleep, with Faith wrapped around their mate from behind.

"Voyager, where's Kathryn?" Buffy asked quietly, her blood still hot with need. She wanted her mate.

_"**Captain Janeway is in her ready room."**_Came the answer.

"Is she alone?"

_"**She is not."**_

"When she's free, inform her that her presence is required in the holodeck with her mates."

_"**Acknowledged."**_

Moving out into the waterfall, she quickly washed, enjoying the heavy fall of water washing over her. For the first time in her life, she felt like she had everything she needed to be truly happy. Her face was underneath the water when a smile graced her face as she felt warm hands cover her breasts. "Hmm. Hey, Will."

"Hi, baby. I woke up and you were gone." Came the sleepy answer. A light splash told Buffy that Faith was about to join them.

"Wanted to see if Kathryn could join us." Buffy told her, arching slightly into the fingers teasing her nipples. "Do you feel the mating bond with her?"

Willow nodded against Buffy's back. One hand abandoned Buffy's breast to skitter down her flat stomach and tangle in wet blonde hair, pushing inside Buffy just as she twisted and pulled the nipple still trapped in her other hand.

"Oh Fuck!" Buffy screamed, rising up on her toes at the sensations exploded from both locations, making her light-headed and weak-kneed. Faith was there to hold her up before she could sink into the water, taking her mouth in a ferocious kiss that instantly captured all of her attention.

'_Damn, B, you're so hot.' _Faith sent to her. _'You felt so good before. Next time I'm going to use one of those toys you like so much, just so I can feel every tight squeeze when I ream that pretty little ass.'_

Buffy was panting in desperate lust as her imagination kept pace with the brunette's words. She could easily see the younger woman pounding into her with an appendage like the one she had used on Willow, then Kathryn. At just that moment, Willow thrust three slim fingers into her spasming pussy as Faith clutched the globes of her ass, sending churning water swirling around and into her anus. Her orgasm caught her by complete surprise, crashing through her with such force that she couldn't even scream aloud.

- - - BtVS - - ST: Voyager - - -

"Deck Three." Kathryn said just before she fell to her knees as her body pulsed through a long, drawn out climax. She was never so thankful for an empty turbolift in her entire life. In a voice that showed the strain, she added, "Computer site-to-site transport. Buffy, Faith and Willow from Holodeck 2 to the captain's quarters. Authorization Janeway seven zero nine omega."

"**Acknowledged.****"**

When she arrived on her deck, she practically ran down the hall pulling her clothes loose. She was so glad that her meeting with T'Pel hadn't lasted much longer after she felt Buffy awaken. Her blood was boiling. The sensations and mental pictures that she was received had her panting hard and barely able to get off the bridge without falling to her knees and growling in need. Entering her quarters, and sealing the door behind her, she stripped quickly as she made her way to the bedroom. When she found the girls, Buffy had Willow up against the wall, one leg hooked over the shorter blonde's hip with the Prime thrusting furiously with her hand. She watched for a moment, but a moment only, because she was feeling the need herself. With narrowed eyes, she turned to Faith, who was watching her with interest.

"Hey, KJ." She smiled, sex appeal oozing through her voice. "Whatcha up to?"

Not bothering to answer, she walked over and buried her hands in shimmering hair, kissing Faith hard as she pushed her flat on the bed. Pushing her thigh into the moist juncture of the Alpha's thighs, pressing firmly until the younger woman moaned. Moving to whisper in her ear and nipped the sensitive skin beneath it. "I know what you said to her, Faith. I could see every thought you provoked. I _know_ you pushed those nimble fingers in _special_ places," She reached down and grabbed Faith's wrists, bringing them up to hold captive near her head as she shifted her body in a way that had the brunette arching and hissing in pleasure. "and that's fine, but no one, and I mean no one, will ride her like that but me."

"Oh God." Faith gasped. She'd definitely underestimated this lady!

"You want to dominate the Prime, Faith?" Kathryn purred dangerously. "The Prime submits to one person, and one person only. _I_ am _N'mina_."

Faith was panting with lust. Kathryn was pushing against her with every forceful word, making sparks of need skitter up and down her spine, but not enough to make her orgasm. She clenched her teeth in an effort not to beg for more. She thought _she_ had a sexy voice, but she had _nothing_ on this woman. The smoky, sultry tone that Kathryn was using slid in her blood and along her nerves like lit gasoline.

"Spread your legs, Faith." Kathryn growled into her ear, pushing her hands up to grasp the headboard and pressing them lightly, indicating that she was not to let go. "Let me have you."

Faith's body obeyed without hesitation, even though her mind was scrambling to figure out just how she ended up on bottom. No one but Buffy had ever managed that before. Before she could really think about it, Kathryn recaptured her attention by kneading her full breasts with both hands, still pressing teasingly against her pussy. Faith growled, needing more, but she didn't let go. Kathryn ran her tongue along the line of Faith's jaw, and down her neck to swirl it at the base of her throat. Finally, Kathryn asked the question that broke her tenuous hold on her own control.

"Do you want my bite?"

- - - BtVS - - ST: Voyager - - -

_'Open your eyes, Will.'_ Buffy rumbling purr spoke into her mind. Willow's head was pressed back into the wall as her body moved of its own accord. Buffy had been working her over for what felt like an eternity, pushing her closer and closer to the abyss only to yank her back.

Buffy looked up at the mesmerizing picture of her best friend's ecstasy. She knew exactly what Willow would see if she opened her eyes. Kathryn playing Faith's body as she, Buffy, played with the former witch. _'You know you love to watch your mate get taken.'_

Willow's eyes snapped open. Her vision was instantly filled with the scene taking place over Buffy's shoulder. "Oh Goddess!"

Buffy purred in pleasure as a fresh wave of moisture spilled from the woman in her arms. _'Oh, Will, wait until your turn. Kathryn is soooo good when she's in control. She puts some of those stories you used to read on the internet to shame.'_

Willow's inner muscles spasmed around Buffy's fingers and her body began to vibrate with fine tremors. Eyes narrowed and teeth bared in feral need, Buffy went in for the kill, pushing harder past those grasping muscles and flicking her hard clit with her nail as she spoke again. _'I'll bet she makes... Faith... beg!'_

Right after those fateful words, Faith did indeed begin begging. Desperately. That was all it took. Willow stopped breathing and her whole being went completely still. Then she exploded, her choking cries rising in concert with her other mates as Kathryn finally, finally gave Faith what she needed. Buffy tucked her head under Willow's chin, sucking on the same spot that Kathryn had bitten on Faith, and pressed the nails of her other hand into the sensitive spot of Willow's thigh where she had placed her own mate bite. The resulting screams made her wild, hedonistic side shiver in sublime ecstasy as she pushed Willow's climax harder and harder until the redhead finally collapsed in her arms.

_'Rest well, Will.'_ Buffy sent to her as she started to loose consciousness. _'When Kathryn recovers, it's your turn.'_


	25. Chapter Twenty Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

"Well, the stage is set, and the foundation is solid." Q said to his companion as they watched the now sleeping mates. "Nice work for a newbie."

"I've been around a lot longer than you have, Q." Dawn smirked at him. "I might not meddle with the lives of lesser beings, as you call them, but that doesn't mean that I don't know how."

"Do you think they can handle the obstacles in their path?"

"Kathryn Janeway and Buffy Summers can get out of impossible situations better than any other Champion I've ever seen. Between Kathryn's ability to outmaneuver her enemies, and Buffy's ability to pull off the improbable, I think they could finally clean up the problems of the Delta Quadrant once and for all." Dawm smoothed back damp blonde hair, smiling softly when Buffy's lips curved and she whispered Dawn's name as she unconsciously turned into the ghostly caress. "After all, that's why Janeway was brought here in the first place. The problem was, she never should have been brought here with no help. In a sense, she was treated just as bad as the Slayers."

Q actually looked startled. "By that Caretaker character?"

Dawn shook her head. "There are forces here in this dimension similar to The Powers. The Caretaker was simply the means used to get her here."

"The Powers? Here?" Q _did not_ like the sound of that. Especially since this is the first he's heard of it.

"Don't worry about it." Dawn reassured lightly. "They're not the same ones as in the other universe, and they don't make a habit of interfering, only when the circumstances are dire. For example, the girl, Kes, _had_ to take the Enlightened Path and make the Change. Her relationship with Janeway made it possible for Kes to accept the need to grow and do what she needed to do, and her development was essential to the future of this dimension. The Ocampa themselves also have a role to play in the future."

"What, and where, are this Powers?" Q asked.

"They're out of your reach." Dawn said simply. "They can wipe out the entire Continuum with a spare thought, so don't bother them. Let them do their work in peace."

There was no response.

"I mean it, Q. Do not interfere." Dawn said crisply, her expression suddenly hard, before turning back to the group on the bed. "I've helped them as much as I can. Given them as much as I could. They have to clean up the messes that The First left behind, as well as fulfill Kathryn's original mission as she makes her way back home."

"Her original mission?" Q asked, interested despite his frustration with her previous news.

"Did you ever look into the future of this Quadrant before Voyager's arrival, or were you too busy playing your useless games?" The Key asked. "If Voyager had not been diverted to this quadrant, the Kazon would have gained control of the Caretaker's array, destroyed the Ocampa and became a powerhouse second only to The Borg, but still they would be hunted almost non-stop by the Hirogen as well as the Viidians. The war between The Borg and Species 8472 would have escalated until The Borg were nearly annihilated and then Species 8472 would have moved on to eradicate all life in normal space. Her presence here, the battles she has fought, have kept some species in check as well as given other species, that she has never encountered, the space and the opportunity to grow that they wouldn't have had otherwise. Even your Continuum."

"The Continuum?" Q's mouth dropped open in shock.

"Of course. Only Janeway would have handled those situations in the way that she did. Anyone else would have made an arbitrary decision regarding the Q that wanted to commit suicide. That decision would have still led to the civil war, but you would _never_ have come up with the idea for a child. The civil war would have continued, the singularities would have grown in frequency and strength, and you would have destroyed whole sections of the galaxy before something was done to stop it."

Q closed his mouth and stared at the classic features of his beloved captain for a moment. Though he'd never actually tell anyone, she was the first lesser being to make him _feel_. It wasn't love, per se, but it also wasn't the need to fulfill his often macabre amusement. He knew, first hand, why the people on this ship, and so many others, were so willing to fight and die for her. After all, he had been willing to actually 'mate' with the woman. Shaking his head as he realized how maudlin his thoughts had become, he bowed out, leaving The Key to say her own goodbyes and returned to the Continuum. Being near the girl made his insides shiver.

Dawn smirked as he vanished in a flash of light. The Q were such stuck-up little kids sometimes. They reminded her of Cordelia. She turned back to the group in the bed. "Be safe and be happy, Buffy. You long ago accepted that normal was never going to be something that you could have. Now, you have everything that you've ever wanted or needed right there in that bed. I may not be able to feel my love for you after I return, but I'll never forget what it feels like."

She pressed a soft kiss to Buffy's temple and, as the blonde stirred in her sleep, vanished in a swirling cloud of green mist just before Buffy's eyes opened tearfully. "Goodbye, Dawnie."

- - - BtVS - - ST: Voyager - - -

"Buffy, honey, what are you doing out here?" Kathryn asked, standing in the bedroom doorway, naked and yawning. "Are you all right?"

"Dawn was here." Buffy sniffed. "I think she came to say her final goodbye."

"Did you see her?" Kathryn asked without hesitation. Even though she had sensed nothing, she didn't discount the connection between the sisters.

"It was just a feeling. It woke me up." Buffy shook her head and hugged the stuffed animal closer. She had found Mr. Gordo sitting on the replicator when she had come out for a drink of water after she woke up to the loss of her connection to her sister. Shielding herself from her sleeping mates, she'd grabbed the stuffed toy and curled up on the couch to cry. She should have know that she couldn't keep her _N'mina_ completely out. "I don't think I'll ever see my sister again, Kathryn. I'm going to miss her sooo much."

Joining her mate on the couch, Kathryn pulled Buffy over to straddle her lap, holding her close as The Prime of the S'Terrans sobbed into her neck. The one chink in that steel reinforced armor that Buffy presented to the world had always been her family. She glanced over to the bedroom when she heard Faith and Willow stirring in their sleep. _'Stay. Let me take care of her for now.'_

She felt the acceptance as she continued to hold the trembling blonde. The sobs had died down and, after a moment, Buffy raised her hand to look into Kathryn's eyes. "Thanks. Sorry I got you all wet."

"That's all right." Kathryn smiled and rubbed her back. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"For so long, she was the only reason I stayed alive." Buffy sniffled. "I wanted so badly to go back, but at night, I could hear her nightmares. She was screaming for me to come back, that it was supposed to be her. Now, when everything's finally getting good, she can't even enjoy it with me."

"She did what she did to protect you and make you happy." Kathryn kissed her softly. "She would have liked to stay with you, but she couldn't."

Kathryn placed gentled kisses all over Buffy's face, first in comfort, then slowing in rising passion. Massaging Buffy's back, she kissed her harder, sucking on her tongue until the blonde whimpered and shifted her body restlessly. _'Shh. Slowly, love.'_

Spreading the folds of her robe that Buffy was wearing, she traced gentle fingers over trim curves, pulling away from the kiss to nip down tanned flesh to take a turgid nipple into her mouth. Buffy gasped and buried her hands in the captain's hair, holding her closer as she arched into the suckling sensation. She squeezed tense, trembling thighs, pressing her nails in just enough to make the former Slayer groan in need.

"Kathryn, please." Buffy groaned.

'_Can you feel my mark, mate?'_ Kathryn growled in her mind. _'I can feel mine, throbbing, wanting you to sink your teeth into my skin again.'_

"Yessss." Buffy hissed, purrs began rumbling through her body.

'_My teeth are throbbing as well.'_ Kathryn told her silkily. _'Would you like me to...'_

"Yes!" Buffy choked through clenched. Her grip in Kathryn's hair tightened as she pulled her head back up to her neck. "Do it!"

Kathryn smiled ferally, biting down hard, but not enough to break the skin, just as she slipped slender fingers deep into her body.

"Oh, goddess!" Buffy groaned, climaxing fast and hard. Kathryn didn't stop there. She thrust slowly but deeply, wrapping her other arm around Buffy's waist to lean the younger woman back and give herself leverage for more arm power. Buffy reached out to grab the back of the couch, using her stomach and thigh muscles to move her body to the rhythm that Kathryn set. "Ohhh."

'_Come for me!'_ Kathryn demanded as she bit down harder, finally breaking skin. At the same time, she used her thumb to press into the previously neglected hard clit, and growled herself when Buffy suddenly clutched the handful of red hair and yanked Kathryn's face up to kiss her hard as her body and mind imploded. Kathryn moaned at the feel of clutching muscles and turned her fingers so that she could press into her lover's sweet spot. The sharp, intense surge broke though Buffy's mental walls and washed through them all, throwing Faith, Willow and Kathryn in climaxes along with her.

'_I love you all.'_ Buffy sent to them, her mental voice filled with her overflowing emotion.

'_We love you as well.'_ Kathryn responded, and they felt the sleepy acknowledgement of her statement.

"Kathryn?" Buffy murmured sleepily.

"Hmm?"

"Now that we have my old loves, isn't it time go get yours?"

The End of Book 1


End file.
